Black Falcon
by tracylay
Summary: Verena Blake is the adoptive daughter of Bruce Wayne. She's also Black Falcon, the Girl Wonder. Join her as she and her partner, Robin, form a team of young superheroes with other sidekicks. No. Wait. DON'T call them sidekicks. Set in Season 1. Follows plot exactly and then some. Dick Grayson/Robin x Verena Blake/Black Falcon (OC)
1. Independence Day

**GOTHAM CITY  
****JULY 4, 2010  
****11:55 EDT**

"Jeez, you're gonna choke on your food at this rate," I laughed, watching as Dick frantically took bite after bite of his pizza.

"So excited," Dick muttered out between bites. "Today's the day!"

"I know," I grinned at him from across the table.

We were currently in a small diner getting some brunch while Bruce finished up some League stuff before coming to pick us up. I heard some beeping sound and paused in my laughter and reached into my pocket, pulling out my phone. From my peripheral vision, I saw Dick doing the same thing.

Dick pulled out his wallet and placed a twenty on the table, which was more than enough. I took a last gulp of my soda before running out of the diner with him. "Money's on the table!" Dick called. "Keep the change!" They were probably used to this by now.

He and I headed into an alleyway, where I peeled off my civilian clothes to reveal my costume. I unhooked my guns from their places at my thighs. I slipped on my mask to see Robin doing the same thing.

"He's at the park," Robin said, looking at his phone.

"Let's get going then," I said before pulling out my grappling gun. Robin nodded in agreement and we swung off towards the park.

There, we saw Freeze… well, freezing everything in sight. Robin threw a Batarang towards Freeze, making him miss his target, and the last of the people ran away.

"Batman," Freeze spoke, turning in the direction we were in. "I was wondering when–" He was cut off by Robin's laughter. Robin and I kicked Freeze and we turned around quickly. I quickly shot out two bullets, cracking his helmet.

"Oh," Freeze said, not amused. "The Boy and Girl Wonders. The Bat sent you two to send me off to prison? To be honest, I'm quite underwhelmed."

"That's great and all, but we're kinda in a hurry here," Robin sighed, throwing his arms in the air.

"Kids, always in such a rush…" Freeze commented.

"Not talking to you~" Robin sang, exasperated.

I spotted a familiar shadow heading in our direction, and apparently, so did Freeze. He turned around just in time to take a right hook from Batman, which shattered his glass helmet. Freeze collapsed to the ground, defeated, and Batman tied him up.

I heard the sounds of the police sirens getting louder and louder, and once Batman stood up, the police were here. "He's all yours," I said, gesturing towards the unconscious Freeze while Batman stepped away towards us.

"Is it time yet? Is it time yet?!" Robin asked eagerly beside me.

"Calm down," Batman said, looking down at the Boy Wonder. "Yes. It is. We head off to Washington, D.C. right now." As he said that, the Batmobile stopped in front of us.

Because today was Sunday, Robin was shotgun, so I had to take a seat in the back. Batman got into the driver's seat, and he drove off, heading towards Washington D.C.

Batman took off his mask once we were nearly out of Gotham City, so Robin and I did the same thing.

"How long is it going to take us to get to D.C.?" Dick asked eagerly. I could _hear_ him bouncing in his seat.

Bruce's eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. "Just how much sugar did he have?"

"An extra-large chocolate shake," I answered. "But if it helps, he didn't finish it. We were called out before we got to finish our lunches."

Bruce let out a small sigh before he answered Dick's question. "Around two hours at our current speed."

"It would've been faster to fly," I commented.

"It would've," Bruce agreed. "But then I'd have to hear you two argue over who flew over there." Ah. Smart man, Bruce Wayne.

After about five minutes of silence, Dick let out a groan of pain, making me turn from the window to Dick's seat. I leaned over in my seat and peered at him. "You okay there, Dick?" I asked.

"Kicking Freeze's butt plus jumping plus shake plus pizza equals pain…" Dick groaned, slouching in his seat. Ever the mathlete he was.

I shook my head and sighed, leaning back in my seat. "I'm not even sure you chewed your food properly…"

"Shut up, V," Dick groaned, holding his stomach.

"Open the compartment," Bruce told Dick. "There's a water bottle in there." Dick did as he was told and gladly gulped down half of the water bottle in one breath.

"Y'know, shutting up helps too," I piped in, and Dick turned around to glare at me after finishing his water bottle. He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Why couldn't you adopt a cute little sister for me?" Dick asked, looking at Bruce.

"Hey!" I protested, and then proceeded to whack Dick's head. "I _am_ cute!"

"Yeah, as cute as Joker's hyenas," Robin rubbed his head. "And less violent." I puffed my cheeks in frustration before leaning back in my seat and crossing my arms over my chest. Robin chuckled and leaned back in his seat casually.

**WASHINGTON, D.C.  
****JULY 4, 2010  
****14:00 EDT**

We were only waiting for Flash and Kid Flash now as we stood a ways from the entrance to the Hall of Justice. Batman placed a hand on Robin and my shoulders and looked down at us. "Today's the day," he spoke in a proud tone, and Robin and I exchanged looks before smiling.

"Welcome to the Hall of Justice," Green Arrow said.

"Headquarters of the Justice League," Aquaman added.

"Aw man!" an all-too familiar voice exclaimed. We all turned around to see the two speedsters coming to a stop in front of us. "I _knew_ we'd be the last ones here!" Kid Flash complained, crossing his arms.

"Now that we're all here," Batman spoke. "Let's go."

"Yes!" Kid Flash and Robin jumped up at the same time. They gave each other high fives before walking ahead. The rest of us followed shortly.

As we walked to the Hall of Justice, the surrounding spectators began to talk excitedly as they snapped picture after picture.

"_Is that Batman?!"_

"_There's Flash! And Flash Jr.!"_

"_His name's Speedy, duh."_

"_No, Speedy's Green Arrow's sidekick!"_

"_Well that makes no sense!"_

"Have all five sidekicks ever been in the same place at the same time?" Kid Flash asked eagerly.

"_Don't_ call us sidekicks," Speedy reprimanded the young speedster from my right side. "Not after today."

"Sorry," Kid Flash apologized. "It's my first time at the Hall. I'm a little overwhelmed."

Robin let out a sigh from my left. "You're overwhelmed, Freeze was underwhelmed, why isn't anyone just ever _whelmed_?" Robin questioned.

The doors to the Hall of Justice opened up for us and I gaped at the large, seven bronze statues of the founding members of the Justice League. "That's probably why…" I answered Robin's question.

We approached a door that read "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY", and the large metal doors slid open, revealing Red Tornado and Martian Manhunter.

"Robin, Black Falcon, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash," Martian Manhunter spoke. "Welcome." Robin and Kid Flash gave fist bumps as we followed Martian Manhunter inside the room. He proceeded to give us a tour of the inside area, which was the gym, the galley, and of course…

"… our library," Martian Manhunter finished.

"Make yourselves at home," Flash said, and Aqualad, Robin, and Kid Flash sat down in the three seats that were there. I sat on the left armrest of Robin's chair while Speedy stood in the center of us.

Batman announced that he and the others were going to go for a quick debriefing on the reason why four ice villains chose today to attack. They stood in front of a pair of steel doors, and a scanner popped out.

"_Recognized: Batman__: Zero-Two. Aquaman: Zero-Six. Flash: Zero-Four. Green Arrow: Zero-Eight. Martian Manhunter: Zero-Seven. Red Tornado: One-Six__."_

"That's it?!" Speedy exclaimed. He approached the older heroes angrily. "You promised us a _real_ tour. Not a glorified backstage pass."

"It's a first step," Aquaman tried to reason with the teenager. "You've been given access on what few others get."

"Oh really now?!" Speedy questioned, gesturing towards the ceiling window, where tourists were snapping pictures. "We're just on the other side of the glass!"

"Oh dear…" I found myself muttering.

"Roy, you just need to be patient," Green Arrow tried to calm his partner down.

"What I need, is _respect_," Speedy retorted. He turned around to look at us. "They're treating us like kids. Actually, worse. Like _sidekicks_." He pretty much spat the last word out like it was venom. "We deserve better than this."

The four of us exchanged looks and then I exchanged looks with Robin.

'_Any problems?'_ I mentally asked.

'_No.'_

"You're kidding, right?" Speedy deadpanned. "Today was supposed to be _the_ day! Step one to becoming full-fledged members of the League!"

"Well, sure," Kid Flash spoke first. "But I thought step one was a tour of the HQ."

"Except the Hall isn't the League's real HQ!" Speedy retorted, making my jaw drop slightly in shock. "I bet they never told you that it was just a front for tourists and a pit stop to catching Zeta-beam tubes to the real thing! An orbiting satellite called the Watchtower!"

"You are not helping your cause here, son," Aquaman spoke, stepping up. "Stand down."

"I'm _not_ your son," Speedy answered. "I'm not even his." He directed the last sentence to Green Arrow. "I thought I was his partner. But not anymore." Speedy took his cap and threw it on the ground before storming out of the room.

The four of us stood to watch Speedy exit the double steel doors, and they slammed shut behind him.

There was a beeping sound before a large screen from the back of the room displayed an image of Superman. "Superman to Justice League. There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

"I've had my suspicions on Cadmus," Batman spoke. "This will present the perfect opportunity to–"

He was cut off by Zatara's voice before he appeared in the corner of the screen. "Zatara to Justice League. The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Aten to blot out the sun. Requesting full League response."

"Superman?" Batman inquired, looking at the Kryptonian on the screen.

"It's a small fire," Superman said. "The local authorities have it under control."

"Then Cadmus can wait," Batman decided. He pressed a button the large keyboard. "All Leaguers rendezvous to Zatara's coordinates. Batman out."

The screens went black as the four of us approached our mentors. Batman turned to us and ordered us to stay put.

"What?" Robin exclaimed. "Why?"

"This is a League mission," Aquaman explained.

"You're not trained–" Flash started, but Kid Flash cut him off.

"Since _when_?!"

"I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team," Flash finished.

"There will be other missions when you're ready," Aquaman spoke.

"But for now," Batman said, looking at all of us. "Stay put." The Leaguers left the room, and the double black steel doors that read "JUSTICE LEAGUE MEMBERS ONLY" slammed shut.

"When we're ready?!" Kid Flash exclaimed, outraged. "How are we supposed to ever be ready if they treat us like, like," he searched for the word.

"Sidekicks?" I suggested for him.

"Yeah!" Kid Flash cried.

Aqualad looked hurt. "My mentor… my King… I thought he trusted me."

"Trust?" Kid Flash retorted. "They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got an orbiting secret HQ in _space_!"

"What else aren't they telling us?"

"I have a better question," Robin spoke. "Why didn't we leave with Speedy?" I let out a sigh and went over to the computer.

"What are you doing, Fal?" Kid Flash asked as I turned on the computer.

"Find out just what Project Cadmus is," I replied.

"_Access denied.__"_

"Really now?" I quirked an eyebrow, before typing in some codes.

"Whoa," Kid Flash said. "How are you doing that?"

"Same system as the Batcave?" Robin asked.

"Yep." I popped the _p._

"_Access granted."_

The file opened and I read what it was about. "Project Cadmus… genetics lab… here in D.C…. That's all there is."

"But if Batman's suspicious, maybe we should investigate," Robin suggested, grinning.

"Solve their case before they do," Aqualad smiled softly. "It would be poetic justice."

"And they're all about justice," I grinned. I downloaded the coordinates.

Aqualad sighed beside me. "But they said to stay put."

"For the blotting out the sun mission, not this," Robin said, bending their words slightly.

"Got their coordinates," I answered, and Robin gave me a nod.

"Wait, are you two going to Cadmus?" Kid Flash asked us. "'Cause if you guys are, I'm goin' too." The two males grinned up at Aqualad.

"So just like that?" Aqualad questioned. "A team on a mission?"

"Well we didn't exactly come here to go on a play date, now did we?" I asked, looking at the hologram of the coordinates from my gloves.

I told Kid Flash where the coordinates were, and he sped off without us as we ran as fast as we could to Project Cadmus, which, thankfully, was only a couple miles away.

As we got closer, I watched as Kid Flash caught two scientists who were falling out of a building and tossed them on the roof. Because of the sudden stop, gravity pulled him down, but he managed to hold himself from an open window.

"It's what's-his-name! Flash Boy!" I stifled a laugh behind my gloved hand.

"So smooth," Robin commented sarcastically. He exchanged a look with me and I nodded, pulling out my grappling gun.

I launched mine at the same time as Robin and we swung ourselves upwards. Robin let out a laugh as we landed on the open window. He helped pull Kid Flash up while I went over to the computer, hacking into it.

"I'll check the cabinets," Kid Flash said, going over to the few cabinets that there were.

"I appreciated the help," Aqualad said sarcastically, jumping into the room.

"You handled it," Robin commented. "'Sides, you handled it." He turned towards me and asked, "So how's it goin'?"

"Downloading all of their files as we speak," I answered, looking at the bar. "Forty-seven percent." I heard the boys leaving the room, but continued to download all I could. Once the files were done downloading, I disconnected and headed to the hallways.

I looked at the hologram from Robin's glove and looked at it. "A 182 Story Capacity elevator?" I questioned.

Aqualad went over to the elevator shaft, and opened the doors. I quickly joined him and looked down. It was like an endless pit of doom.

"And that's why they need an express elevator," Robin commented. "Fal."

"I know, I know," I answered, pulling out my grappling gun. He and I launched it inside the roof of the elevator shaft, and we started going down.

We went down, story after story. I could hear Robin's cape fluttering beside me as I went down beside him. At sublevel 26, we suddenly stopped.

"Crap. That's the end of my rope," I commented.

"Looks like this is our stop," Robin replied. He jumped and landed on the small floor. I grabbed a hold of Robin's rope before I let go of my own gun. He caught my hand as I jumped, steadying me. Aqualad and Kid Flash joined us shortly afterwards.

Robin sat down and began to bypass the security system, and Aqualad opened the elevator doors. We stepped onto the floor, and looked at the large hallway.

"Welcome to Project Cadmus," Robin said.

Kid Flash sped on ahead, and I watched as he almost got trampled on by their weird, alien-looking things. I gaped as I walked beside Robin, looking at the weird gigantic things.

"Nope," I started sarcastically. "There's nothing weird around here. Batman was ridiculous for suspecting Project Cadmus."

"Let's take a look around," Robin suggested, and we continued to walk down the large hallway.

"Well, looks like this is the end," I said. "Wanna bypass the security?" I looked at Robin, who was already on it. I rolled my eyes at my partner's personality and waited as the doors unlocked.

"I'm officially whelmed," Robin announced once the double doors opened.

"What are these things?" I furrowed my brows. They were weird alien-things in tubes generating blue electricity.

Robin went over to the computers against the wall. "Let's find out." He hooked himself into a computer and then said. "Hey Fal, you mind downloading their files while I find out why they're doing all this?"

"No prob," I said, going over to the computer beside him. I hooked myself onto that computer and began hacking into the files. "Holy crap, there's a lot of data in this." The bar read eighteen percent.

"They're called Genomorphs," Robin read. "Holy crap! Look at the stats on these things! Super strength, telepathy, razor claws, they're breeding weapons!"

"They're generating an army, but for who?" Kid Flash inquired.

"There's something else," Robin pointed out. "Project Kr. The files triple encrypted, I can't–"

"Don't move!" a loud, commanding voice cried.

"Robin? Black Falcon? Aqualad? Kid Flash?" the man questioned.

"At least he got your name right," Robin teased. "How's it goin', Fal?"

"Ugh. It's so slow. Seventy-eight percent," I told him, slightly annoyed. I vaguely heard Aqualad recognize the man as Guardian, who was a hero. He announced that he was the chief of security around here.

"I'll cover you!" Robin exclaimed after Guardian ordered the genomorphs to take us down. True to his word, Robin threw a smoke bomb, and blocked any genomorphs that got too close to me.

I unhooked my gun from my right hip and just as Robin ducked down to kick a genomorphs, I shot one that was jumping towards us. When I saw the loading bar disappear, I quickly pulled out the USB cable.

Seeing this, Robin grabbed me by the waist as his grappling gun and pulled me with him. When he let go of me, he quickly hooked himself onto the security system and began to hack. Aqualad and Kid Flash joined us soon afterwards.

"Way to be a team player, _Rob, Fal_!" Kid Flash exclaimed, glaring at us.

"Weren't you right behind us?" Robin asked, continuing to type on his holographic keyboard. The elevator door opened, and the three of us ran in. We waited for Aqualad to join us and once he was in, I pressed the button to go down. The doors shut just in time, keeping the genomorphs out.

"We're going _down_?" Aqualad asked, looking at me incredulously.

"Dude, out is _up_!" For emphasis, Kid Flash pointed upwards whilst looking down at me.

"Hey, don't yell at her!" Robin said, standing in front of me. "Project Kr is down on sublevel fifty-two."

"This is getting out of control," Aqualad sighed, exasperated. "Perhaps… perhaps we should contact the League." We stood in silence for a while, until the elevator dinged, signaling we arrived.

The doors opened and I couldn't help but scrunch my nose at the sight. It looked like we were in someone's intestines. Robin was the first to jump out, and I quickly followed up. Kid Flash and Aqualad followed right behind me.

Aqualad sighed and asked, "Which way?" once we stopped.

"Yeah, take your pick, Fal," Robin gestured. "Bizarre-looking hallway one or bizarre-looking hallway two?"

"Halt!" someone called. I turned and saw another genomorph standing there. He levitated some barrels at us, but we dodged the attack. They exploded and Robin threw a batarang, but it was dodged.

We sped down the hallway, with Kid Flash ahead. He stopped a door from closing and gestured for us to run faster. I picked up the pace and jumped through the almost closing door. Robin jumped in after me. Aqualad kicked the stopper away, and the door slammed shut behind us.

"I disabled the door," Robin said from where he stood. "We're safe."

"We're trapped," Aqualad plainly said.

"Hey Fal," Kid Flash said from beside me. "You seein' what I'm seein'?" I nodded mutely. "Uh… guys," he called for the others' attention. "You'll wanna see this." I pressed what looked like a light button, and, thankfully, the lights turned on.

My eyes widened at what I saw in front of me though.

It looked like a younger version of Superman.

"Big K little R," Kid Flash said, walking up to the pod-like thing that contained the Superman-look alike. "The atomic symbol for Krypton."

I approached the tube-thing as well, looking at it. "Could it be a clone?" I suggested.

"Robin, hack," Aqualad ordered.

"Uh, right, right," Robin answered.

"By the way, I'm surprised you remember your atomic symbols, Kid," I grinned up at the speedster.

Kid Flash looked down at me, his eyes narrowing. "You're lucky you're cute."

I turned to Robin, who was hacking into the computer. "See Robin, he thinks I'm cute."

"Like I said, you're as cute as Joker's hyenas," Robin retorted.

"Jerk," I muttered under my breath. Kid Flash and I went over to where Robin and Aqualad were standing, and Robin began to read what he had.

"Weapon designation Superboy. A clone force grown in… _sixteen weeks_?! From DNA acquired from Superman."

"_Stolen_ from Superman," Aqualad corrected.

"No way the big guy knows about this," Kid Flash added.

"His solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation twenty-four seven."

I looked down at the screen in front of me as Aqualad pointed to the thingies inside Superboy's pod. "Genomorph gnomes. They're force feeding him an education."

"They're like… making a slave out of Superman's son," Kid Flash commented.

"I think we should contact the League," I suggested. "Before we get any deeper into this." I activated the hologram on my gloves, but I got nothing but static.

"No signal," Robin said.

"We're in too deep," Kid Flash commented.

"Literally," I added, making Kid Flash nod his head. I looked at Superboy and then back at the other guys. "We can't leave him like this…"

"Set him free," Aqualad agreed. "Do it." He looked down at Robin.

Robin inputted some codes and the next thing I saw, the pod was opening. I _really_ hope this wasn't gonna backfire on us.

Superboy's eyes suddenly flew open, and that wasn't the only thing that flew. He flew right towards us, tackling Aqualad to the ground.

"Me and my stupid thoughts," I reprimanded myself. I just had to go and jinx it.

The three of us rushed over to where Superboy was punching Aqualad, and I snaked my arms around Superboy's neck, holding him while the other guys got his arms.

Superboy's strength though, proved too much and he escaped from Kid Flash's grip. He used his free arm to punch Kid Flash right through a glass tube.

"Black Falcon, smoke bombs!" Robin cried as I struggled with Superboy's arm. Man, he was strong! I pulled out some smoke bombs and we threw them right at Superboy's face. Aqualad took advantage of the distraction and he kicked the Kryptonian away.

Robin extended electric wires to Superboy, but the guy just grabbed onto them and pulled Robin forward before stepping down on him.

I unclipped both guns on both of my thighs and began to shoot air bullet after air bullet towards the male. Ugh. Stupid invulnerability.

Using my distraction, Aqualad whipped out a water hammer, and attacked Superboy. I ran over to Robin, and helped him up. "You okay?" My response was a groan and Robin collapsed back down onto the ground. "Robin? Robin!" I cried, shaking him. No use. He was unconscious.

"Black Falcon! Look out!" I heard Aqualad exclaim, and the next thing I knew, I was pinned to the wall.

I let out a gasp as Superboy's hand wrapped around my neck, squeezing it. I struggled to get control of my hands, and placed my guns on Superboy's stomach. I shot him at point blank range, and he jumped back in shock.

He roared in anger and proceeded to tackled me to the wall before throwing me across the room. I hit the computer before sliding onto the ground, and the next thing I knew, I saw black.

* * *

**A/N:** So yeah, this is a YJ fic that I've been writing for a few months now. I actually have the first six chapters done. :) I know you readers are out there! (I can see the view count :P) Please leave a review. A review = a guaranteed faster update. ;) Can we hit five reviews~? :o


	2. Today is the Day

**WASHINGTON, D.C.  
****JULY 5, 2010  
****00:01 EDT**

"_Time runs short,"_ I heard in my head. Ugh… my head hurt so much. _"You must awaken…"_ I heard. _"You must awaken, _now_!"_

My eyes snapped open, and I found myself handcuffed to a wall. Great. I looked around to see the others were in the same situation as me, and looked ahead to see Superboy watching us.

"Wh-what do you want?!" Kid Flash demanded. "Quit staring, you're creeping me out!"

"Uh, KF," Robin called. "How 'bout we _not_ tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?" I nodded in agreement.

I rubbed my thumbs against my index fingers, and I let out a fraction of a smile when I saw the lock pick pop out from my glove.

"Ugh, who else wants to get out of here and grab a bite? I'm starving," I commented. Robin met my eyes and I silently asked, _'You working on getting out?'_

Robin nodded his head and then said, "Think we've got some midnight snacks waiting for us?"

"We're trapped and locked in a pod and you two are talking about _food_?" Kid Flash asked incredulously.

"Well… yeah," Robin and I answered at the same time. My stomach chose that time to grumble, and Robin smirked.

'_Shut up,'_ I told him mentally.

He looked smugly at me. _'Make me.'_

I glared back at him. _'When__ I get out of here…'_

"Are you two having a conversation?" Aqualad asked, making Robin and me turn to him.

"Yeah. What of it?" Robin questioned back.

Kid Flash looked at the both of us with confusion written all over his face. "Since when did you two have powers?"

"We don't," Robin and I responded at the same time again. "I can just understand what he/she is thinking."

"You guys are weird," Kid Flash commented, and Aqualad nodded in agreement.

I chose to ignore his comment and turned to Superboy instead. "Y'know, when we let you go, we were trying to help you."

"Yeah!" Kid Flash agreed. "We free you, and you turn on us! What's that for–"

"Kid, please, be quiet now" Aqualad spoke up. "I believe our new friend was not in full control of his actions."

"What if… what if I wasn't?" Superboy struggled out.

"He can talk?!" Kid Flash asked, astonished.

Superboy glared at Kid Flash. "Yes, _he_ _can_."

Aqualad, Robin, and I looked at Kid Flash. He looked at the three of us and shrugged. "What? It's not like I said _it_."

Aqualad continued to talk to Superboy, trying to convince him to let us out, as I continued to pick the lock. These things were really locked.

"Have you seen them though?" Robin inquired. "Have they ever let you see the sky? The sun?"

"Images are implanted in my mind, but now, I have not actually… seen them," Superboy admitted a bit sadly. I felt an ounce of sympathy for the clone.

"Do you know who you are?" Aqualad asked.

Superboy admitted that he was the Superboy, a clone from the Superman. He would grow up to be like him, but he would destroy Superman should he turn from the light. Wow. What an inspiration…

"That's nice that you wanna be like Superman and all, but you should have a life too," I told him, making him turn to me. "You should have a life beyond your pod, beyond Cadmus."

He glared at me hard. "I live _because_ of Cadmus! It is my home!"

"Uh, your home is a test tube," Robin commented.

"We can show you the sun," I added.

"Uh, Fal, I'm pretty sure it's after midnight," Kid Flash told me. "But we can show you the moon."

"We can show you… no, introduce you, to Superman," Aqualad continued.

"No, they can't," a voice appeared, and I watched as the doors opened up to reveal Guardian and a couple of scientists. "They'll be… _occupied_." The male scientist turned to the female one. "Activate the cloning process."

"Pass!" Robin and I exclaimed. "Batcave's crowded enough."

The scientist chose to ignore us, yelling an order to Guardian. "Get the weapon back in its pod!"

"Hey!" Kid Flash protested. "How come he gets to call Supey an it?"

I felt the lock click quietly, but refrained from pulling myself loose. If I unlocked myself fully, this could get messy. There's no way I'd be able to take on Guardian _and_ Superboy myself.

"Help us," Aqualad pleaded.

The drone-thingy on the male scientist's shoulder jumped onto Superboy. He yelled at Superboy, before the clone walked out without a word of protest.

Something suddenly shot out from the ground and latched onto my chest, and I let out a cry of pain as electric shocks spread throughout my body.

I heard a loud crash, and the pain disappeared. My body shook from the aftershock slightly and I shook my head, trying to get rid of the ringing sound in my ears. I watched as Superboy threw the door to the side, and tossed Guardian and the scientists out of the way.

"_Don't_ give me orders," Superboy glared at the male scientist before approaching us.

"Uh, you here to help us or fry us?" Kid Flash asked warily.

He glared at us, but when nothing came out, his eyes relaxed. "Huh. I suppose I don't have heat vision, so I suppose helping's my only option."

I unlocked the last of the lock and escaped from the pod. I was a bit off-center, but it cleared off quickly.

"Ugh! Finally!" Robin exclaimed, landing next to me. "We're lucky Batman isn't here," he said, turning to me. "He'd have our heads for taking so long."

"Seriously? That's what you two are worried about?" Kid Flash deadpanned. "The _whole League_'ll have our heads after tonight!"

I went over to the computer and opened up Aqualad and Kid Flash's pods. "Robin, take care of Kid. Superboy, take care of Aqualad."

The taller male glared down at me. "Don't _you_ give me orders either." He jumped towards Aqualad and broke his locks free while Robin went to pick Kid Flash's.

The both were quickly released and we ran out of the room. I turned around and waited for Robin as the scientist growled after us.

"That guy is not whelmed, not whelmed at all," Robin muttered, throwing explosives at the weird pods that kept our DNA.

"What is it with you and this whelmed thing?" Kid Flash asked before the three of us ran after the other two. There was a large explosion behind us, and I jumped out of the way of a flying barrel.

"Uh, guys! I don't think these things are supposed to be glowing!" I exclaimed, looking at the glowing red spheres that were lodged in the walls. Some genomorphs blocked our paths and I looked behind me and saw more crawling out of the red spheres. I groaned. "I just _had_ to say that."

I slid out of the way of a large genomorph and pulled out my two guns. I shot upwards, as I slid under, and did a flip after the genomorph fell to the ground. I landed on the ground in front of Robin, and I watched as Superboy fought the other genomorph.

"Someone has anger issues," I muttered to myself as he yelled at Aqualad.

"Let's go!" Aqualad called, and I turned around to continue running towards the elevator. He slammed open the doors of the elevator and I pulled out my grappling gun.

Robin and I swung ourselves up while Kid Flash climbed. Superboy then grabbed Aqualad and started to fly, but then he started to fall. Robin threw a batarang against the wall and Aqualad caught it just in time.

"Superman can fly, why can't I fly?" Superboy questioned.

"Dunno, but it looks like you _can_ leap tall buildings in a single bound. Still cool," Kid Flash pointed out, and helped Superboy get down on the small ledge we were standing on.

I heard the sound of an elevator starting, and said, "Guys! We'll have to make our exit here!" I pointed at the door that was labeled SL-15. Superboy kicked the door open, and we ran down the hall just as the elevator passed us.

"Left!" Superboy suddenly called, and I almost slipped by having to suddenly turn left. "Right!" he said after a bit of running.

"What are you doing?" Aqualad asked as I played with the controls on my hologram.

"Deactivating the security cameras," I replied. "Robin?"

"Already on it, Fal," Robin replied, running beside me.

Superboy led us to a dead end and Robin and I closed our holograms. Kid Flash was yelling as Superboy, but then I saw a ventilation system. I nudged Robin and pointed up.

"That's perfect!" Robin exclaimed.

I pulled out my gun and shot the four ends, making it fall to the ground. Kid Flash let out a whistle. "Nice shootin'."

"Thanks," I grinned. "Robin. A boost?"

Robin held out his hands for me and I jumped on them, climbing into the ventilation system. I stuck out my hand and helped Robin up while the others followed shortly after.

"At this rate, we'll never get out," Kid Flash cried as we crawled through the system.

"Sh!" Superboy hushed. "Listen!"

I looked at Robin. I arched a brow. _'You hear something?'_ Robin shook his head. I pulled out the map I had downloaded earlier and looked at it. "Couple meters from here'll be our exit. You fully hacked the motion sensors, right?" Robin looked at me with a _duh_ face. I glared at him and I led the way after memorizing the route. Once I found the opening, I kicked the shaft open and jumped down, with the other guys following me.

"You two are _good_," Kid Flash commented. Robin and I shrugged.

"There's still a long way between us and the exit though," Robin said.

Kid Flash pulled down his goggles to cover his eyes. "Yeah? But I've finally got room to move." He sped on ahead, up the stairs, with us following him as fast as we could.

"More behind us!" Robin reported, looking at his map. I heard a crash and stopped to see Superboy kick and pretty much break the staircase. Well, that was one way to lose our pursuers.

By the time we got to sublevel one, an alarm was ringing. I saw Kid Flash on the ground and Aqualad standing over him.

"We're cut off from the street," Aqualad pointed out.

"Really?" Kid Flash asked sarcastically. "My head hadn't noticed." He groaned and stood back up.

I opened my hologram to hack into the security system, but it wasn't fast enough, even with Robin taking half of it. Aqualad and Superboy tried to open the doors, and I let out a growl.

Robin kicked open a door and called for our attention. We ran after the caped boy before coming to a stop. We were completely surrounded.

I pulled out two guns just as the others got armed as well. I suddenly felt light-headed, and collapsed to the ground. Ugh. Blacking out twice in twenty-four hours.

"_Fal…"_ I heard a voice call, and then some shaking. I groaned and opened my eyes to see Robin's masked eyes looking down at me. "You okay?"

"Besides the fact I feel like I just got run over, yeah," I replied as he helped me up.

"Go." I heard Guardian say, so I turned to him. "I'll deal with Desmond." And we finally have a name!

"I think not," that male scientist's voice came. "Project Blockbuster will give me power to restore order to Cadmus." He held up a test tube, and, much to my disgust, he downed the weird blue liquid inside it.

He groaned in pain and fell to his knees before his clothes ripped. I picked up my guns from the ground and watched as his skin rip and some blue thing take Desmond's place.

"Everyone, back!" Guardian ordered as he rushed forward, but he was easily knocked aside by whatever-the-crap-that-thing-was.

I watched as Superboy engaged in combat with the thing before he was tackled up into the ceiling. "That's one way," Robin shrugged. I clipped my guns back onto the side of my thighs.

"Think Lab Coat planned that?" Kid Flash asked before Robin and he swung out of here.

I pulled out my own grappling gun and grabbed a hold of Aqualad. "I kinda doubt he's planning anything right now," I said and Aqualad nodded in agreement before we got out of here.

We landed on the ground floor, and Superboy and Desmond were still fighting. Aqualad attempted to catch Superboy, who was flung towards us, but he fell back from the weight.

I pulled out a gun and began to shoot at the creature, hitting wherever I could to find a weakness. "I think you're just pissing him off even more, Fal," Kid Flash pointed out before rushing forward and sliding underneath the creature.

I was about to join the fight the three older boys were fighting, but Robin held me back. "Fal, the pillars!" he said to me. I looked at the broken pillar caused by Superboy and then to the holographic map Robin showed me. "KF! Get over here!"

"What's up?" Kid Flash asked hurriedly.

"Look," I said, pointing at Robin's map.

"It's a map, great. We aren't really here to learn about its architecture, y'know."

"For someone quick on your feet, you're pretty slow up there," I pointed at my brain. "Try to distract Desmond and get him to knock down the pillars."

"What for?"

Robin sighed, frustrated. "What happens when support beams fall?"

"Well, whatever it's supporting falls," Kid Flash answered. A light bulb went off in Kid Flash's head. Ding, ding! We have a winner! "Gotcha!" He gave us a thumbs up. "So what's the plan?"

"Lure Desmond to destroy most of the pillars. Got it?" Robin asked.

"Got it!" Kid Flash cried before running back into the fight.

"Go take place bombs at the top of each pillar," Robin told me. "I'll tell Aqualad and Superboy."

I nodded my head and pulled out the gun that I kept on the inside of my left jacket pocket. I placed multiple timed bombs on there and began to shoot, attaching them onto the tops of the pillars.

From my peripheral vision, I saw the guys done with Desmond. "Move! Move!" I cried, running towards the exit. The guys followed my lead and I heard my bombs explode.

Robin tackled me down onto the ground and I felt another weight on us as Aqualad shielded us from the falling rubble. A couple seconds later, Superboy pushed up all of the rubble. I felt a pain on my right side and looked down to see it bleeding from where the rubble cut it.

"We…" Aqualad panted, "did it."

Despite my pain, I felt a large sense of completion and pride. "Was there…" Robin panted, "ever any doubt?" I watched as Robin and Kid Flash exchange a high five, but then they clenched their sides in pain.

"Hey Superboy," I called, panting slightly. "It's the moon." I pointed up at the sky. Superboy turned and looked up at the large satellite. I spotted a few shadows, and squinted.

"Oh, _and_ Superman!" Kid Flash exclaimed. "Do we keep our promises or what?"

It wasn't just Superman. In fact, it was the whole Justice League. They all landed, surrounding the large whole we created from destroying the Cadmus building. Superboy approached Superman and showed his destroyed solar suit, which revealed the S shield.

The rest of us joined Superboy, and I looked around to take a scan of our injuries. Superboy's clothes were just ripped. Aqualad had a couple of scratches. Kid Flash's uniform was messed up. Robin's clothes were ripped and he had a bruise slowly forming on his right shoulder.

"Is that what I think it is?" Batman inquired.

"He doesn't like being called an it," Kid Flash warned.

"I'm Superman's clone!" Superboy announced, and I could tell the other members of the League were just as shocked as we were earlier.

Batman's eyes narrowed and they focused on Robin and me. "Start talking."

"Well, it started after you guys left us in the Hall of Justice," Robin started. Then each of us, except Superboy, took turns explaining what had happened to us.

**WASHINGTON, D.C.  
****JULY 5, 2010  
****00:38 EDT**

"And then you guys arrived and find out that Superman has a clone," I finished.

"The Green Lanterns, Hawkman, Hawkwoman, and Captain Atom will take away Desmond," Batman ordered. "Black Canary, take care of Black Falcon's wound. The rest of us will have a discussion on what has happened." He walked away from us as the members of the League gathered around to talk while the other five took Desmond away.

Black Canary approached me and looked down at me. "Come on, let's get that treated." She took me behind the rubble and told me to sit down. "Some crazy things you did here tonight, kid."

"I've done crazier," I admitted, and Black Canary let out a small chuckle. I lifted my shirt like she told me to, and she pulled out some bandages. I winced slightly when she applied the antiseptic, but stayed silent.

"Looks like it's only a flesh wound, so it'll heal just fine," Black Canary said, standing up. "You're pretty lucky, I'd say."

"I get that sometimes," I replied, standing back up. "Thank you." Black Canary nodded her head and then left me. I walked over to where the guys were standing and joined them just as Superman flew away.

"You okay?" Robin asked me.

I nodded my head. "Only a flesh wound."

"Cadmus will be investigated," Batman said, approaching us with Flash and Aquaman in tow. "All fifty-two levels. But let's make one thing clear."

Flash crossed his arms. "You should've called."

Batman narrowed his eyes at the interruption but continued. "And results aside, we are not happy. You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders, and endangered lives. You will _not_ be doing this again."

"I am sorry," Aqualad spoke. "But we will."

"Aqualad, stand down," Aquaman ordered.

"My apologies, my King, but no. We did good work here tonight. The work you've trained us to do. Together. On our own, we forged something powerful. Important."

"If this is about your treatment at the Hall, the four of you–"

"The five of us," Kid Flash corrected. "And it's not."

"Batman, we're ready to use what you taught us," Robin spoke up.

"Or else why bother teaching us at all?" I added.

"Why let _them_ tell us what to do?!" Superboy said. "It's simple. Get on board, or get out of the way."

The five of us looked at our mentors, and Batman looked at all of us before saying. "Give me three days." He then looked at me and said, "But before that, Black Falcon, I believe you have something for me."

I wasn't surprised. I opened part of my left glove and pulled out a microchip. "This is what I was able to download from one of Cadmus's computers. I don't know if it's everything, but…"

"That'll be fine," Batman said, taking the microchip. "I'll see you two later." He looked at Robin and me.

"You all should go home. It's almost one," Flash pointed out. "You gonna be alright getting home?"

"Psh! Of course!" Kid Flash waved off. He turned to Superboy and said, "So, Supey… wanna stay over at my place?"

I looked at Batman. "So… you gonna drive us or should I take my jet?"

"Take your jet," Batman responded. I nodded and called for my jet to come. The members of the League began to disperse, and soon, it was only the five of us.

"Guess we'll see each other in three days?" Kid Flash asked, looking at Aqualad, Robin, and me.

"Guess so," Robin agreed. A shadow then appeared over us and I looked up to see my jet. "There's our ride."

"You guys need a lift?" I asked.

"It'd be much appreciated," Aqualad nodded his head.

My jet landed on the empty street, and the door opened. I led the way inside and once Superboy, the last person, entered, the door closed.

Kid Flash let out an impressed whistle. "Nice ride."

"The many perks of being one of Batman's partners," I agreed. I got into the main driver's seat and Robin, of course, co-piloted to my right.

Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Superboy took a seat on the large sofa in the back of the jet, and I heard the distinct sound of the television being turned on.

"We'll drop Aqualad off first in the Atlantic Ocean first before circling back to Central City," I said.

"No problem with me!" Kid Flash called from the back.

I started the engines, and I took off smoothly. It took a while to get to the eastern Atlantic Ocean. About two and a half hours, which was understandable considering we were near Azores. I descended to a dive-able height for Aqualad and opened the door for him.

"Goodbye, and thank you for the ride," Aqualad said.

"No problem," Robin and I responded before Aqualad jumped out of the jet.

I ascended the jet, and we headed back west to Central City. I could hear the television still running, but Kid Flash snoring in the back of the jet.

"He snores pretty loudly," I commented. "What time is it? Eastern Standard Time."

"Ugh," Robin groaned. "Three-oh-seven. I'm hungry _and_ sleepy. Got up _way_ too early yesterday."

"Indeed," I agreed. "Seven AM was much too early for you to be awake on a Sunday. It's a good thing we're still on summer break. We wouldn't be home until at least seven."

"Let's speed this up so we can get home at _most_ seven," Robin grumbled. I quirked an eyebrow at Robin, and then accelerated. "Whoa!" Robin cried, leaning back in his seat slightly.

I let out a small laugh, and he glared at me. "Injured person here!"

"Oh hush," I reprimanded him. "Go fetch me an apple or something. For a co-pilot, there's a more emphasis on the _co_ than the _pilot_."

Robin unbuckled himself and went over to where the fruit basket. He came back a few seconds later with an orange for him and an apple for me. I took the fruit gratefully and ate in one hand while I steered with the other. There was nothing but the night sky, which was slowly lightening because the sun slowly began to rise.

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****JULY 8, 2010  
****08:04 EDT**

Batman explained just where we were, while the other League members were gathered around. Some were moving a few things while some just stood and listened. We were currently standing in Mount Justice, which was located in Happy Harbor in Rhode Island.

"Since you five are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms," Batman explained. "Red Tornado has volunteered to live here and be your supervisor. Black Canary's in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions."

"Real missions?" Robin asked from beside me. We were all dressed in civilian clothing, but we still referred to each other by our codenames.

"Yes," Batman replied. "But _covert_."

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff," Flash told us.

"But Cadmus proves that the bad guys are getting smarter," Aquaman spoke. "Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly."

"The six of you will be that team," Batman confirmed.

"Cool!" I grinned. Then something caught my attention. "Wait… six?" I arched a brow. I was pretty sure there was five of us.

Batman looked behind us, and the five of us turned around. Martian Manhunter appeared, along with what looked like a female version of him.

"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian."

"Hi," she smiled.

"I'm liking this gig more and more every minute," Kid Flash grinned at Robin. I rolled my eyes at the duo's stupid teenaged hormones. He approached Miss Martian and said, "Welcome aboard! I'm Kid Flash. That's Robin, Black Falcon, Aqualad, Superboy." I waved at her when he said my name. "It's cool if you forget their names though."

I glared at Kid Flash and whacked him over the head lightly while I smiled as I approached Miss Martian. "Ignore Kid Flash's stupidity. Don't worry, it's not contagious."

Robin let out a laugh and joined me with Aqualad. "Hey Superboy! Come meet Miss M!"

Superboy approached us and I watched as her clothes morph to look similar to Superboy's. "I like your t-shirt," Miss Martian commented.

I grinned. Someone's got a little crush.

"Y'know Falcon, that wasn't nice," Kid Flash said, rubbing his head slightly. Whoops, I guess it wasn't that light after all.

"Never said I was nice." I stuck out my tongue at Kid Flash.

Aqualad looked at all of us and stated, "Today is the day." We all smiled, nodding our heads.

* * *

**A/N:** So I didn't get to hit the five reviews like I wanted to. :( I was talking to my friends about YJ, and I just HAD to post up this chapter. I really wanted at least five reviews before I posted up this chapter, but oh wells. Can I ask for seven? Pwease? .w. After I got my first review, I actually ended up pulling out my documents of this story and proceeded to write five pages in one sitting. :o SEE HOW MUCH PROGRESS I MAKE IF YOU GUYS JUST LEAVE A MESSAGE? :3


	3. Welcome to Happy Harbor

**A/N:** So I got a question asking what Black Falcon's outfit looked like. Well, this was actually supposed to be the second season of a series, but unfortunately, by first season has nothing because I don't have a plot. xD So... that'll be published in the future as a prequel or something. :) That's why I haven't had any explicit details on Verena/Black Falcon's outfit. But here's Verena's appearance and her weapons:

Verena has wavy blonde hair which falls past her shoulders, but green eyes that are usually light, but harden when focused. She's quite short, standing to only Robin's lips even with her boots on. She's assumed to be a couple inches shorter with them off. She has a lean and muscular build, from all of her years of training and crime fighting.

As Black Falcon, Verena dons a black and blue tight tank top and a pair of black leggings similar to Robin's. She wore a pair of black, knee-length boots, which she can roll down to hide two more guns inside. She has two gun holsters at her thighs and a blue belt filled with gadgets and special "bullets" Batman gave her that can act as pellets (ice, fire, gas, etc). On her person, she carries up to five guns at a time. She also wears a mask similar to Robin's over her eyes to conceal her identity.

Verena's guns are specially modified guns that can use the air around them and morph them into air bullets. There's a switch on the side of all of her guns which range from level 1-10, the higher the number, the stronger the bullet force. Level 1 can be used to just heavily bruise someone, not enough to bleed.

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****JULY 18, 2010  
****11:16 EDT**

"_Recognized: Robin: B-Zero-One. Kid Flash: B-Zero-Two."_

The two teenaged superheroes ran over to us as I stood with Aqualad, Superboy, and Miss Martian, looking at the holographic map.

"Did you ask him yet?!" Robin demanded.

"He's arriving now," Aqualad replied.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Kid Flash exclaimed before we all followed him to go meet Red Tornado outside of the cave.

It's been over a week since this team was formed, but the League hasn't given us any missions yet. Today, Red Tornado was arriving.

The front entrance to the Cave opened up as we got closer, and I could see Red Tornado approaching us. Kid Flash eagerly greeted the robotic hero, who responded.

"Is there a reason you intercepted me outside of the Cave?" Red Tornado inquired.

"We hoped you had a mission for us," Aqualad explained.

Red Tornado looked at us briefly before saying, "Mission assignments are Batman's responsibility."

"But it's been over a week!" Robin protested.

"You'll be tested soon enough, but for the time being, simply enjoy each other's company," Red Tornado answered.

"This team isn't a social club," I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

"No," Red Tornado agreed. "But I am told social interaction is an important team-building exercise. Perhaps you can keep yourself busy by familiarizing yourself with the Cave." He walked past the six of us and headed inside the Cave.

"Does he think we're falling for this?" Robin scoffed.

"Ooh," Miss Martian said, "I'll find out." She turned around to look at Red Tornado with a concentrated look.

"_Recognized: Red Tornado: One-Six."_

She closed her eyes in slight disappointment before she said, "I'm sorry, I forgot. He's a machine… Inorganic. I can't read his mind."

"Nice try though," Kid Flash comforted. "So…" He stuffed his hands in his pockets to look up at Miss Martian slightly. "You know what _I'm_ thinking right now."

Robin snorted. "We all know what you're thinking now." He jutted his elbow into Kid Flash's lower back.

Aqualad said in an un-amused tone, "And now we tour the clubhouse."

"Well, Superboy and I live here. We can play tour guides."

I looked at Superboy, and he said, "Don't look at me."

"We won't," Kid Flash said quickly before turning to Miss Martian. "A private tour sounds much more fun."

"She never said it was private," I pointed out.

"Team-building," Aqualad spoke up. "We'll all go."

We all followed Miss Martian back into the Cave, where she introduced us to every room there was in here. Man, this place was huge.

During the middle of the tour, Kid Flash and Robin flirted with Miss Martian, and I rolled my eyes at their behavior. I noticed Superboy's nose twitching and looked at him inquiringly. He returned my gaze before he said, "I smell smoke."

Miss Martian let out a gasp and exclaimed, "My cookies!" And she took off flying.

We followed her to the kitchen that was connected to the lounge area and watched as she levitated a tray of burnt, black crisps onto the kitchen counter.

"Uh…" I started, and poked the thing. My finger bent, telling me it was as hard as rock.

To my surprise, Kid Flash grabbed two and began to consume them. I didn't need Superboy's super hearing to hear the crunches.

"I uh… have serious metabolism," Kid Flash told us.

"I'll… make more?" Miss Martian asked more than stated.

"It was sweet of you to make any," Aqualad pointed out. I nodded my head in agreement. I had fast metabolism, but not as fast as Kid Flash's, so I'd probably get a stomachache if I attempted to eat this. I'll just wait for the next batch.

"Thanks Aqualad," Miss Martian smiled.

"We're off duty," Aqualad said. "Call me Kaldur'ahm. Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."

Kid Flash leaned against the island, grinning at Miss Martian. "I'm Wally. See, I already trust you with my secret ID. Unlike Mr. and Mrs. Dark Glasses over here. Batman's forbidden Boy and Girl Wonder from telling anyone their real names."

The two of us glared at Wally from behind our sunglasses.

"Mine's no secret," Miss Martian giggled. "It's M'gann M'orzz! But, you can call me Megan. It's an Earth name, and we're on Earth now."

I turned to see Superboy walking out of the kitchen, but he suddenly whirled around and snapped, "Get out of my head!"

Suddenly, I heard a voice that sounded similar to M'gann's in my head and clenched it. _"What's wrong? I don't understand. Everyone on Ma__rs communicates telepathically."_

"M'gann, stop," Kaldur scolded firmly. "Things are different on Earth. Here, your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy."

"Besides, Cadmus's psychic G-Gnomes left a bad taste in his brain," Wally not-so-quietly whispered.

"I-I didn't mean to–"

"Just. Stay. Out," Superboy growled out. He walked out of the kitchen and into the lounge.

M'gann sudden hit her forehead and said, "_Hello_, Megan! I know what we can do!" She suddenly flew out of the room.

I arched an eyebrow at Dick. He shrugged back at me before he went to follow M'gann with Kaldur and Wally. I looked at Superboy and inquired, "Are you coming too?"

Superboy peered at me from where he sat on the couch. He looked at me for a few seconds before he got up. I gave a small smile at him and then jogged to catch up with the others. I headed into the elevator, where the others were still waiting with the door open. When Superboy stepped in, we went down to the hangar.

The doors opened, and I saw a red spherical thing. I blinked and M'gann walked out first. "It's my Martian Bio-Ship!" she exclaimed happily.

"Uh… cute," Wally said first. "Not aerodynamic, but cute."

"It's at rest, silly," M'gann smiled. "I'll wake it." And suddenly, it started to transform into a large, red jet-like thing. Cool. It spun around so its back faced us and the… door, I think, opened. "Well, are you coming?"

"You bet I am!" I exclaimed, eager to be in the skies. I skipped after M'gann and I heard the guys following behind me silently.

Once we were inside, it transformed to have six seats. I quickly slipped into the middle seat at the front of the Bio-Ship. "Wow!" I exclaimed as seatbelts shot out and wrapped around me.

"She always like this?" I heard Wally ask.

"Only when it comes to aircrafts and guns," I heard Dick say.

I spun around in my seat to look at Dick. He was sitting on my left, the ship's right, in the back. M'gann was sitting in what I assumed was the main control seat, and Wally was on her other side. I glanced towards my side and saw Aqualad sit down in front of Wally and Superboy took a seat in front of Dick.

"Shut up." I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Real mature there, Fal," Dick commented sarcastically.

"I'm glad you like it," M'gann smiled at me. I gave a smile in return and turned around to face the front. "Red Tornado, please open the Bay Doors." The large doors opened in front of us, and the Bio-Ship sailed out smoothly.

"Whoa!" Dick exclaimed. "Incredible!"

Wally sighed dreamily. "She sure is." I rolled my eyes when he stumbled on his words and said, "Uh, I meant the ship. Y'know, which, like all other ships, is a she."

I let out a small laugh. "Fast with his feet…"

"Not so much with his mouth," Dick finished.

"Dudes!" Wally protested.

I glanced from the corner of my eye and saw Superboy sitting quietly. I looked at Aqualad, who was looking worriedly at Superboy as well.

"Y'know," I started quietly, looking at Superboy. "I might not have psychic powers, but I can kind of guess what you're thinking." Superboy turned to me. "You overreacted back there and you don't know how to apologize." He still kept looking at me. I gave a small smile. "When Robin and I are mad at each other, we just say sorry and all's forgiven."

He shifted his gaze from me and back into the large ocean. I turned to Aqualad, and shrugged. I tried. Aqualad nodded his approval.

"Hey, how about showing us some of that Martian shape-shifting?" I heard Dick suggest.

I turned around, wanting to see this. I watched as M'gann transformed into a female version of Robin, and grinned. She then transformed into a perfect copy of me before changing into a female version of Kid Flash.

Wally let out another sigh. "Is it wrong that I think that I'm hot?"

"Impressive," Dick commented. "But… You know that you're not exactly gonna fool anyone with those. Well, except for Fal's."

"Mimicking boys is a lot harder," M'gann said sheepishly.

"And your clothes…" Kaldur pointed out.

M'gann smiled. "They're organic like the ship. They respond to my mental commands."

"As long as they're the only ones," Superboy said. There was a small silence, and it wasn't the comfortable one.

"Can you do that ghosting through walls that Manhunter does?!" Wally asked eagerly.

"Density shifting? No. It's a very advanced technique."

"Flash can vibrate his molecules right through a wall," Dick started, and paused to laugh. "When he tries it, bloody nose." I joined in Dick's laughter, since I've seen it myself.

"_Dude_!"

"Here's something I can do," M'gann said, and though I felt no change, I knew the Bio-Ship had changed. "Camouflage mode."

"_Red Tornado to Miss Martian. An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant. I suggest you investigate. Covertly. __I'm sending coordinates."_

"Received. Adjusting course."

Dick let out a sigh. "Tornado's keeping us busy again."

"Well, a simple fire led you all to Superboy. We should find out what caused the alert," M'gann replied.

Superboy was looking out of the right side's window when he said, "I think I know the cause."

I braced for impact as a tornado overtook us, shaking the Bio-Ship rapidly. "Ugh," I groaned, not liking this. The Bio-Ship flew out of the tornado and then hovered over the ground, allowing us to jump down.

I went around the cars and past the people running, heading into the power plant, with Dick right on my heels. The windows exploded and I pulled out my grappling gun before shooting it near one of the broken windows. I swung myself right inside.

I pulled out a regular gun of mine and switched it to a level seven before shooting my bullets, but they were deflected easily. I was thrown down to the ground by wind and groaned. Dick landed right next to me a few seconds later.

Superboy landed behind us as we sat up. "Who's your new friend?"

"Didn't catch his name, but he plays kinda rough!" Dick informed.

"My apologies," a robotic voice said. "You may address me as Mister Twister."

"Mister Twister?" I asked, astonished. "_Really_? That's the best name you could come up with?"

The large enemy gave an angry growl and the wind suddenly got harsher. "You just _had_ to make him mad, didn't you?!" Dick yelled over the loud wind.

Superboy was thrown to a wall, leaving a large dent. Wally, M'gann, and Kaldur ran past Dick and me, heading straight towards Twister.

The speedster got blasted straight outside while M'gann and Kaldur were thrown back, hitting the support beams.

"I was prepared to be challenged by a superhero," Twister goaded. "I was not, however, expecting children."

Since bullets weren't going to work, I pulled out some batarangs. "We're not children!" Dick exclaimed, and I took the chance to throw the weapons. But to my annoyance, they exploded without touching the enemy.

"Objectively you are," he said. "Have you any adult supervision? I find your presence here quite _disturbing_."

"Well we hate to see you disturbed," I said sarcastically.

"Let's see if you're more _turbed_ once we kick your can!" Robin cried, pissed.

M'gann went for a distraction, while Superboy tried to land a hit, but he was blown away. After that, Kaldur, Dick, and I went for him, but I was caught in a mini-tornado. I was then squished between Kaldur and Dick's body and fell to the ground.

Unfortunately, Dick's body landed on mine. "Dick," I groaned, muffled by Dick's shirt. "Get… off of me…"

"Sorry," he muttered before sitting up. I slipped out and groaned, rubbing my sore head. Dick helped me up and I proceeded to brush the dirt off of my clothes.

I noticed a rip on my side and groaned. "I just got this shirt too!"

The five of us walked outside and saw Wally being thrown in the air. "I got you, Wally!" M'gann said, levitating the speedster.

"I would've thought you _all_ would've learned your limitations by now," Twister said.

"What do you want?!" Kaldur exclaimed, enraged.

"Isn't it obvious?" Twister questioned. "I'm waiting for a _real_ hero."

"You're _really_ starting to piss me off," I growled.

"Read his mind and find a weakness," Kaldur ordered M'gann.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to do that!"

"It's _okay_ with the bad guys!" Dick yelled at her. Looks like Twister was getting on _everyone's_ nerves.

M'gann concentrated for a few seconds. "Nothing! I'm getting nothing!" Then she hit her head. "_Hello_, Megan! Mister Twister is Red Tornado in disguise! He's inorganic! An android! And how many androids do _you_ know that can generate tornados?"

It all made sense, actually. The rest of the team seemed to agree as well.

"I'm so _done_," I sighed. "Should've just stayed in Gotham today." All of us walked forward to confront the android, and he began to form a large storm.

"Uh… can Red Tornado do that?" Wally asked wearily.

"You think _I'm_ Tornado? Ironic."

There was a large explosion and I threw my arms in front of me to protect me. I was thrown back and hit the ground. "This needs to stop happening to me…" I groaned weakly, not liking being thrown. I heard Twister say something, but couldn't really get it, since my ears were still ringing from the small explosion.

"You okay, Fal?" I squinted my eyes open to see Dick looking down at me.

"Just give me a sec," I muttered. I then sat up and looked at Dick. "That wasn't Tornado." Dick nodded in agreement.

"What happened?" Wally asked.

"I placed the Bio-Ship between us," M'gann reported.

There was a crash on my side and I turned to see Superboy destroy a large rock. I pushed myself off the ground before I saw Superboy approaching M'gann angrily. "And that's supposed to make it right? You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado!"

"She didn't do it on purpose!" Kaldur defended her. By now, all of us except M'gann were standing.

"It was a rookie mistake," Dick agreed.

I nodded. "We shouldn't have listened."

Even Wally agreed. He put his hands in his pocket and looked down at M'gann. "You _are_ pretty inexperienced. Hit the showers. We'll take it from here."

"Stay out of our way," Superboy warned. He then ran off before jumping away. Wally followed his example and rushed off.

"Let's go," Dick nodded his head in the direction the two headed off.

"Yeah," I agreed. I looked at M'gann one last time before running off with Dick.

It was sunset by the time we caught up to Twister.

When Dick and I got there, Wally and Superboy were already engaged in battle with Mister Twister. I jumped off the roof of a rental boat house, dodging the tornadoes thrown in our direction.

Kaldur wasn't so lucky. He was thrown into a nearby house.

I tried throwing bombs at Twister, but they exploded in the mini-tornadoes he formed. I ran to regroup behind a boat that Mister Twister had thrown. Like I expected, Dick was already there. A second later, Wally appeared.

I pulled out my utility belt I hid in my inside jacket pocket and swung it around my waist. I also unclipped two guns behind my back.

"You two brought your utility belts?!" Wally asked incredulously.

"Never leave home without it," Dick replied. "First thing Batman taught us."

"Yeah," Wally scoffed. "Right after never go to the bathroom without it." I walked up behind him and hit him on the head with the butt of my gun. "Ow!" He wanted to say more, but we all suddenly clenched our heads.

"_Listen to me,"_ M'gann's voice appeared. _"All of you."_

"What did we tell you?!" I heard Superboy yell.

"_I know!"_ M'gann replied. _"And I know I messed u__p. But now I'm very clear on what to do. Please, trust me!"_

"Let's hear it then," I said.

I stood there and I heard M'gann explain her plan. All of us exchanged looks amidst the explosions and destructions and nodded.

We all jumped out and faced Twister, but then a few seconds later, Red Tornado appeared. "Hit the showers, you five. I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly, you cannot."

"But we've got a plan now!" Dick protested.

"The subject is not up for debate," Red Tornado cut us off.

We walked away, and I quickly found a place to hide. I threw in some ice bullets while Red Tornado and Mister Twister fought. I cocked my guns when they were completely filled.

When it was my cue, I jumped out and shot multiple bullets at Twister, preventing him from moving. Superboy ran forward and punched him around before giving one last punch so Twister fell into the water. There was an explosion from the water and Twister fell out.

M'gann destroyed his arms and Dick and I took this opportunity to throw multiple batarang bombs at him. There was a large explosion and Twister fell onto the ground. His chest then opened up to reveal a man, and he fell out. "I call foul," he said.

M'gann didn't say anything. She levitated a large rock.

"M'gann, don't!" I cried, but it was too late. She dropped it on the man.

Dick approached M'gann angrily. "Don't know how things are done on Mars, but on Earth, we don't execute our captives!" he yelled.

"You said you'd trust me," M'gann replied. She lifted the large rock and I saw the destroyed remains of a robot. "_That's_ why I couldn't read his mind."

Wally picked up the robot's eyeball. "Cool. Souvenir."

Kaldur placed an arm on M'gann's shoulder. "We should've had more faith in you."

"Yeah!" Wally agreed. "You rocked this mission! Get it, rocked?"

I slapped my forehead at Wally's stupidity. "Ignore him," Dick said, patting my shoulder. Then he turned to M'gann. "We're all just turbed you're on the team."

I smiled at M'gann. "Yeah."

"Thanks," M'gann smiled at all of us.

"So… we should probably bring this back to the Cave," I said, looking at the scraps.

"I'll get that," M'gann said, levitating the parts. The Bio-Ship appeared and she levitated all of them onto the ship. We all climbed aboard and headed back towards the Cave.

By the time we arrived, the sun had set. M'gann moved all the parts to the Mission Room and Red Tornado and the rest of us gather around the study table that had appeared. I opened up the computer and began to analyze everything, reporting what I got.

"It was clearly created to sabotage or destroy you," Kaldur said, now wearing a jacket.

"Agreed," Red Tornado said.

"Is that why you wouldn't help us?" M'gann inquired.

"No," Red Tornado denied. "This was your battle. I do not believe it is not my role to solve your problems for you. Nor should you solve mine for me. Consider this matter closed."

We watched as Red Tornado walked away.

"Batman, Aquaman, and Flash. They'd have jumped right in to fix things," Wally spoke.

"Guess if we're gonna have a babysitter, a heartless machine is exactly what we need," Dick gestured towards the android.

"Dude, harsh," Wally pointed out and I nodded.

"And inaccurate," Red Tornado said. "I have a heart. Carbon-steel alloy. I also have excellent hearing."

Dick let out a nervous laugh. "Right. Sorry. I'll strive to be more accurate."

"And more respectful," Kaldur looked down at Dick.

Once Red Tornado disappeared from our sights, I decided to shut off the information I extracted. "Y'know, Speedy was wrong."

"This team thing…" Dick started.

"Might just work out," Kaldur agreed.

I gave a small smile and felt an arm wrap around my shoulders. "So, Falcon, the night's still young. Wanna hit the mall with me?"

"Dude, stop flirting with my sister," Dick said, turning from Kaldur to Wally and me.

"You two do not look alike for siblings," Kaldur pointed out.

"Adopted," Dick and I responded at the same time.

I peeled of Wally's arm. "No thanks. I'll just shop for clothes later. Right now, I'm starving."

* * *

**A/N:** I seriously love all the support you guys are giving me! :) I actually bring my laptop to school and work on it sometimes when I'm free at lunch! I try making everything as accurate as possible too (including all the research/background/spelling), so it does take a while. I do try to have dedicate at least one hour a day on this story. :D Please leave a review~ 3


	4. First Mission

**A/N:** Special thanks to** Mjmjmjmj **for always reviewing. You don't know how I appreciate the review. This one's for you! :D

* * *

**CARIBBEAN SEA  
****JULY 22, 2010  
****20:08 ECT**

We soared through the air in the Bio-Ship in silence, not really bothering to talk. Kid Flash was on my left and Robin was on my right. Miss Martian was at the central controls with Aqualad on her left and Superboy on her right. I was kind of ticked that I wasn't allowed to fly my jet, but hey, I had a nice view at least.

I thought back to what Batman had informed us earlier, about the mission. It was our first mission as a team, and there was one thing that was on our minds: Who was the leader?

I glanced around at everyone in the room. The possible candidates were any of us original sidekicks.

I was really experienced in fighting, along with flying. I've been trained since I was a young kid and have been fighting crime since I was nine years old. I had almost over two years of experience in crime fighting, longer than anyone on this team except Robin. But I was the youngest of the Team; I probably wouldn't be able to lead because of my young age.

Aqualad was the oldest of all of us, and he possessed most of the leadership qualities. He was calm, collected, and most likely was able to think things through and make decisions. However, his kindness would be his downfall. He'd most likely hesitate if we went against someone we were once well acquainted with.

Kid Flash was the second-oldest, and possessed a strong, self-confident attitude that would do well as a leader. It was good when a leader showed what he wanted. But Kid was rather… _rash_ at times. He'd think with his heart before thinking with this brain first most of the time.

Robin was the best choice. Being trained by Batman since he was nine years old, Robin's been in this gig for over four years. He was the most experienced and undoubtedly had those natural leadership qualities that Batman has stated both Robin and I had. If he became the leader, I'd probably go for vice. Brains, strength, and calm, Robin was like a mini-Batman… except… lighter. But his major flaw was that he's rather immature. Yeah, Robin's smart, but he's still a kid that's not much older than me. In the future, he might be the leader, but I'm not so sure about right now.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Robin asked, snapping me out of my contemplations. I turned to see Robin looked straight at me, a small smirk on his face.

I quirked an eyebrow. "You get twenty a week and you offer a _penny_? Is that really how much my thoughts are worth?"

Robin chuckled, a less-creepier version than what he did when he wanted to be bratty. "You know what I mean."

Something caught my eye just as I was about to reply to Robin. I leaned forward in my seat. "I can see Santa Prisca," I announced, seeing the faint outline of the island. This caused everyone to focus on where I was looking.

"Drop-Zone A in thirty," Miss Martian announced.

"Ready," Aqualad stated a couple seconds later.

I paid attention to the map and Aqualad was dropped off. We hovered a few feet away from the island, waiting for Aqualad's signal.

"_Heat and motion sensors are patched. Data is now on a continuous loop. Move in."_

Miss Martian flew the Bio-Ship forward until we were above our drop zone. All of us got up from our seats and the chairs disappeared. I still haven't gotten over how cool that was. A line appeared in front of me, and I attached it to my utility belt.

Kid Flash activated his stealth-tech and asked, "How cool is this?" His top was a dark gray while his pants were a black. I must say, the Justice League has some really cool tech.

"Very impressive," I heard Miss Martian say. I turned around and saw Miss Martian's clothes blend into a black full body suit. That was cooler.

"Hey Supey, it's not too late to put on the new stealth-tech," Kid Flash grinned.

"No capes. No tights," Superboy replied, crossing his arms. "No offense."

I shrugged. Tights were actually pretty comfortable.

"Ready to go?" I asked Robin. He looked at me and nodded. The bottom of the Bio-Ship opened and I felt the wind rush past me as Miss Martian flew down in stealth mode.

Kid Flash, Robin, and I followed after her. I landed on the damp soil, which sunk under my feet slightly. Just as we landed, the line disappeared and I noticed something coming down towards me. I jumped out of the way just as Superboy landed on the ground roughly.

"Knew I didn't need a line," Superboy grinned to himself.

"And yet, creating a seismic event may not have helped us much with the _covert_!" Robin exclaimed from where he was on the ground. I held out a hand for Robin and he took it.

I hulled the guy up, and said into my radio, "Aqualad, Drop B is a go." The others gathered around Robin and me as he pulled open a holographic map.

"Head for the factory," I heard Aqualad say. "I'll check your GPS and rendezvous ASAP."

"Roger that," Robin replied, after pinpointing our locations. He deactivated the map and we headed towards the factory.

I climbed up the rocks silently, hoisting myself up with ease. I gave Kid Flash a hand while Superboy merely just jumped up and Miss Martian flew above us.

"Hey Fal," Robin said to me quietly, making me turn towards him. I looked at him questioningly and then down to his maps. Mines detected. He and I hoisted ourselves up into the trees, blending in with our surroundings.

"Did you hear that?" Superboy whispered/asked suddenly.

"Uh… no," Kid Flash whispered back. "Wait. Is this a super-hearing thing?"

"You do have great ears," Miss Martian sighed dreamily. I grinned in amusement.

"Okay Rob, now what?" Kid Flash questioned. He looked around. "Man! Fal's gone too! I hate it when they do that!" he half-yelled, half-whispered.

"_Superboy, Kid, switch to infrared. See if you're being tracked."_

"Got a squad of armed bozos incoming," Kid Flash announced. He jogged forward with Superboy and got a closer look. Robin and I followed them from above.

"Two squads," Superboy corrected. "But they'll meet each other before they find us."

I then heard some guns firing and Kid Flash announced, "No super-hearing required now."

"_Swing wide, steer clear!"_ Aqualad ordered.

"Yeah, yeah, just as soon as I find Rob and Fal." He rushed on ahead and I almost face-palmed myself. As we followed after Kid Flash, we heard the gun fires stop temporarily before they resumed.

We arrived at the scene and Robin and I took care of the goons while Superboy dealt with Bane.

"What is wrong with you guys?!" Robin yelled, kicking a goon out of our way. "Why didn't you follow my lead?! Vanish into the jungle!"

"That's what you were doing?" Kid Flash asked after kicking a goon. "Way to fill us in. We're not mind readers, you know!" He was about to say more until Miss Martian psychically threw a goon. "Er, I'm not, anyway."

"You told me I could only read the bad guys' minds," Miss Martian defended.

"Black Falcon followed my lead just fine," Robin retorted. I knew him well enough to know he was rolling his eyes behind his mask.

Aqualad appeared and finished off the last goon, who was trying to run away. He dragged the goon over and we tied up everyone to the trees. After securing them all, we took a step back and I analyzed them.

"Wait… these uniforms," I said, looking at the red-hooded goons. "They belong to the Cult of the Kobra."

"I am certain Batman would've mentioned it if he knew a dangerous extremist was running Santa Prisca's Venom Operation," Aqualad said, looking down at me.

"Agreed," Robin nodded his head. "And since there's clearly no love lost between the cultist and those goons, I'm betting Kobra came in and tossed them out! That's why normal supply lines have been cut off!"

"We get it. Kobra wanted super cultists. Mystery solved. Radio Bats and we'll be home in time for-"

"These cultists aren't on venom," I told Kid Flash. "Kobra's holding this stuff."

"We don't leave," Robin said. "Not until I know why."

"Until _you_ know why?" Kid Flash questioned, looking down at Robin. I took a step back, letting the boys argue this out. I backed up so I was standing next to Superboy.

"This team needs a leader," Robin retorted.

"And it's _you_?" Kid Flash pointed. "Dude, you're a thirteen-year-old kid who ducked out on us without a word!"

Robin laughed. "And you're a _mature_ fifteen?! You blew our cover first chance you got!"

"Don't you want to be leader?" Miss Martian asked me. "You're the most experienced one after Robin."

I shook my head. "Nah. I'll be vice-leader though." I grinned. I could still hear Kid Flash and Robin arguing and shook my head. I turned to Aqualad. "You wanna break them up?" Aqualad sighed reluctantly and was about to go until Bane started laughing.

"Such clever, _niños_," he laughed. "But you only know half the story. Let me show you the rest. Get you into the factory, via my secret entrance." By now, the four of us had joined the previously-arguing duo.

"There is a secret entrance, but he's also hiding something," Miss Martian said, kneeling down.

"Ah, ah, ah, _chica_. Bane is not that easy."

Miss Martian let out a frustrated groan. "He's mentally reciting football scores in _E__spañol_. This could take a while."

"It's not that complicated. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

I looked at Robin, who looked just as reluctant as me. _'What do you think?'_

'_It's not like we have a choice,'_ Robin shrugged his shoulders. _'We'll just keep an eye out.'_

'_I guess you'r__e right.'_

Robin gave me a smug smile. _'Guess?'_

I rolled my eyes. _'Fine. You are.'_

"Could you two stop with the mental conversations?" Kid Flash asked. "It's one thing if you're psychic, but totally weird if you're not."

We untied only Bane and he led us through the many bushes and trees on the island, staying in front of us the whole time. He stood over a cliff and pointed up ahead. I pulled out a set of binoculars from my utility belt and stood on the edge carefully.

"Jeez, you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" I asked, seeing all of the cargo. "Someone's buying, but it's not going to the usual suspects."

"We need to identify that buyer," Aqualad announced.

Kid Flash pushed up his goggles. "Just what I was thinking."

"Yeah!" Robin laughed. "You're the thinker!"

"Sarcasm? Dude. A real leader would be focused on getting _answers_."

I heard a thump and turned around to see Bane moving a huge rock that was blocking a path. He gestured inside. "Answers are this way."

Kid Flash propped his hands on his waist. "_So_! Now _El Luchador_ is our leader!" Robin smacked Kid Flash as he walked in and I let out a small laugh. I walked next to Robin as we followed Bane inside the creepy tunnel.

Bane opened a steel door, and we soon found ourselves inside of the factory. Robin peeked out, and I waited for his signal. "All clear!" Robin announced and rushed forward. I followed closely on his heels.

I saw light shining from the second floor and found the staircase. I pulled myself up and slipped in-between the steel bars, not bothering to take the right way up. I opened the door and threw a batarang before closing the door.

"All clear?" Robin asked me, joining me.

"Should be," I replied. Robin opened the door and entered first. He picked up the goon that was knocked out by the collar and dropped him on the floor, sitting down on the now-empty seat. "Nice," I said sarcastically. I reached over and pulled the other chair around Robin. I kicked the limp body away before plopping down on his left.

"I try," Robin replied. He plugged his USB cable in and proceeded to hack. And I saw a bunch of molecules and formulas.

I heard a skid behind us and Kid Flash asked, "So whatchu got?" His mouth seemed full, so I turned around to see him eating a chocolate bar.

"Chemical formulas. I'm guessing it involves venom, but…"

"Well, if that's venom," I said, looking at the red molecule structure that was on the screen. The bluish purple molecules were what got to me. I recognized it from looking at Batman's files. "That's Project Blockbuster from Cadmus. If they mixed that together correctly, Kobra's new juices are gonna be at least three times stronger than Venom."

"And permanent," Kid Flash said, looking at the data from between Robin and me. "But how did Kobra get access to Project Blockbuster?" Kid Flash asked incredulously.

I took the chance to take a bite out of his chocolate bar, despite his protests. Caramel milk chocolate. Nice.

"Our mystery buyer must also be Kobra's supplier!" Robin exclaimed. "Using the cult to create the super formula!" He tried to activate his radio. "Robin to Aqualad! We've got… static…"

I heard some gun fire and then a window crashed and stood up. I peered outside of the screen and saw Aqualad and Superboy engaged in combat. Where was Bane? "Time to get movin', boys." I said, pulling out my gun on my right hip.

The three of us ran out, but shortly after we were outside, Kid Flash left us. The best choice was to be outside, stopping Kobra and whoever was out there for leaving. I looked at Robin, who nodded.

"_Everyone online?"_ I suddenly heard Miss Martian's voice in my head.

I swung myself from the ceiling and kicked a goon out of my way before swinging myself out of the broken window. Robin took a different approach.

"_Yeah,"_ Superboy answered reluctantly.

Silently, I snuck into the helicopter and someone was sitting in the co-pilot seat. I hit him with the butt of my gun, knocking him unconscious.

"_You know it, beautiful,"_ I heard Kid Flash say.

Quickly, I destroyed the helicopter's wires with a batarang, cutting cleanly through all the wires that made the engine run.

"_Good,"_ Aqualad said. _"We need to regroup."_

"_A bit busy right now,"_ Robin and I thought at the same time.

"_Robin, Black Falcon! _Now_!"_ Aqualad yelled.

I pulled myself out of the helicopter quickly, landing on the roof quietly. Robin threw a flash bomb and I swung off with him at my heels.

"_We need to retreat. Kid, clear a path."_

Robin and I joined the others inside the factory quickly, and we followed the path of unconscious goons that Kid Flash left for us. Superboy was a bit busy, so I took my chance to set my gun to level seven. I shot the large thing that was fighting Superboy, making it recoil in pain.

Superboy took that opportunity of distraction to throw the beast at incoming goons. I moved out of the way and slammed the door shut after Superboy entered. Aqualad was waiting for us, and the three of us ran off.

Unfortunately, the large dude broke down the metal door and the Kobra goons followed us. "Aqualad, give me a lift!" I exclaimed, and jumped into his arms. I felt him running and I detached the gun on my left hip. I set the same setting to level seven and began to shoot at most of the bullets.

"Superboy, the support beams!"

He knocked down the support beams and I jumped out of Aqualad's arms to allow him to move faster. There was no use in stopping them now. The tunnel behind us collapsed and I sighed. Aqualad pulled out a glow stick and broke it, lighting up the dark tunnel.

Robin was staring at the wall of rocks while I put away my guns, standing beside Miss Martian. I smiled at her, and she returned it.

"How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?" Robin sighed, frustrated.

"You do have the most experience," Aqualad said, "but perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared. You and Falcon have fought alongside Batman and with him, your roles are defined. You three don't need to talk. But this team is new. Black Falcon might be able to understand you, but we do not. The leader must be clear. Explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan."

"Oh, so _I'm_ supposed to hold everyone's hands?!" Robin yelled, whirling around.

"Rob," I started, trying to calm him down, and he sighed.

"Who am I kidding?" he asked. "You should lead us, Kaldur." He smiled up at the eldest person here. "You're the only one who can."

"Please, I can run circles–"

I went over and smacked him upside the head, "Wally, you know he's the one. We all do."

"_Hello_, Megan! It's so obvious!"

"Could've told ya."

Kid Flash looked at me, and I quirked an eyebrow, propping my hands on my hips. "For a little one, you're pretty scary." He shrugged. "Okay. It's true."

Aqualad walked over to Robin and placed an arm on his shoulder. "Then I accept this role until you are ready to lift this burden off my shoulders. You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now, but soon."

Aqualad turned to us. "Alright, our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island."

I grinned. "I sabotaged their copter while you guys were fighting."

"Nice," Kid Flash grinned, and we bumped knuckles.

We stood there for a while, exchanging the information that we learned. Robin, Kid Flash, and I talked about the Blockbuster Venom while Aqualad told us that Sportsmaster was the buyer.

We then ran off, discussing our plan as we went. "If Sportsmaster is the supplier-slash-buyer, that still doesn't make sense. He doesn't have the juice to acquire the Blockbuster formula or get Kobra to do his dirty work," Robin recapped, analyzing everything on the holo-computer.

"Neither have the chops to blend Blockbuster with Venom either," Kid Flash said, running at normal human pace beside him. "That took some major nerdage."

"I believe the expression is…" Aqualad said, coming to a stop, "_tip of the iceberg_."

Bane appeared on the outside, and dropped a vial on the ground. I looked down and saw the familiar light green color of Venom. "Halt, _niños_," Bane said. "I'm feeling, _explosive_."

I heard a beeping sound and looked up. Oh great. Bombs.

"Knew it wasn't a good idea trusting him," I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.

'_Kid, you need a running start,'_ I heard Aqualad say in our heads as Bane explained his plans. Why do bad guys do that? They're pretty stupid when they do these things.

'_You know we can hear you, right?'_ Robin's voice appeared in my head. _'But a__greed. They're pretty stupid.'_

Bane was about to detonate the bombs, but Kid Flash ran forward and swiped it away before Bane could create. When Bane pressed his thumb down, he realized the detonator wasn't in his hands anymore.

"With what?" Kid Flash asked, cockily propped against a tree. "This trigger-thingy?"

Bane let out a roar of anger, and was about to punch Kid, but Miss Martian lifted him up in the air. The rest of us walked out of the tunnel, and I stood back and watched as Superboy walked forward, stopping right under Bane.

"This is gonna be good," I grinned, propping my arm on Robin's shoulder. He grinned down at me.

"Finally," Superboy said eagerly. "Drop him." Miss Martian did so, and Superboy gave Bane a nice good punch in the face, effectively knocking him out.

"They should almost be finished fixing the copter by now," I reported, looking at the hologram of the time displayed. "We should get going now."

'_We__ need a plan,'_ Aqualad said in my head.

'_How about the guys distract everyone while Miss Martian and I sneak the bombs in the copter so it explodes?'_ I suggested.

Aqualad looked at me, slightly stunned before nodding. _'Very well. Can you and Robin discon__nect the bombs?'_

'_Psh! Who do you think we are?!'_ Robin thought confidently.

Within a couple minutes, the bombs were safely disconnected, but still could explode if the detonator was pressed. _'Give me the detonator so you don't accidentally click it.'_ I held out my hand at Kid Flash. Miss Martian was levitating all of the detonators with ease behind me.

'_Here you go, babe,'_ Kid Flash grinned and I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see.

We all headed around back to the factory, and Kid Flash was the first to attack. While the boys were fighting Kobra goons, Sportsmaster, and Mammoth, Miss Martian and I snuck into the cargo of the helicopter.

Superboy appeared at the door, being shot rapidly by Sportsmaster. Miss Martian went to help, but was quickly knocked down and grabbed as hostage. I jumped out from where I hid and tackled Sportsmaster down to the ground, letting Miss Martian escape.

He punched me _really_ hard on the cheek, and I fell back. I pulled out a gun and shot it at him, ignoring the pain in my left cheekbone. He pointed his gun at me and shot rapid bullets at me. I did a bunch of flips and jumped out of the way, careful not to get hit. As he was shooting, Sportsmaster was backing up into the helicopter.

"Thanks for the workout, but I gotta fly," Sportsmaster said, climbing into the flying vehicle.

I covered myself to block away the excess wind that helicopter gave off, my hair flying behind me. I turned to Superboy and Miss Martian, who were looking at me. I held up the detonator and grinned. Once the helicopter was a good distance from us, I pressed it.

The back of the helicopter exploded, and I saw it catch on fire. It landed on the factory behind us, just as everyone but Robin regrouped behind me. I stood up straighter and looked at Kobra and Robin.

"I am surrounded by mosquitoes!" Kobra growled, his foot on Robin.

Robin grunted in pain and said, "Well, good! 'Cause this mosquito's mighty concerted about your _pain_!" He did a flip and escaped from under Kobra's foot, landed beside me with a soft thud. The building was still burning behind us, and Kobra looked at us all.

"Another time, then…" Kobra said before stepping back into the woods. Robin and I quickly ran after him, pushing the plants out of the way, but he was gone.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance before walking back to the others. Robin followed behind me.

"We picked the right guy to lead," Robin grinned, looking up at Aqualad. "Automatically making _you_ the right guy to explain this mess to Batman!" He gestured to the burning building and laughed like the brat he was.

I smiled apologetically at Aqualad, who just smiled and shook his head, signaling it was okay. I walked over to where Robin was and smacked him over the head.

"Ow!" Robin stopped laughing, holding the back of his head. "What was that for?!"

"For being a jerk," I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.

He was about to say something, but then noticed something. He straightened up and stood closer to me.

Robin then grabbed my chin and pulled me closer towards him, making me look up at him.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" I demanded, heart speeding up, but he just shushed me. I hissed in pain when I felt Robin apply pressed to my left cheekbone.

"When'd you get this?" he asked, looking at me, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Probably from when Sportsmaster punched me," I replied, slapping his arm away. I took a couple steps back to distance myself from Robin, but my heart was still pounding away like no tomorrow.

"Looks like a pretty bad one too," Kid Flash commented.

"Gee, thanks. I hadn't noticed," I retorted sarcastically. "What gave you that idea? The large, ugly bruise that's forming or the swelling of my cheek?"

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****JULY 23, 2010  
****10:00 EDT**

We were dressed in civilian clothes, lined up, and Batman stood before us. I had a bandage, which was covered by some kind of goo, over my left cheek to accelerate the healing of my bruise. The order we stood in was Kaldur, Robin, me, Wally, M'gann, and Superboy. Batman walked up and down the line, observing all of us.

"A simple recon mission, _observe_ and _report_. You'll each receive a written evaluation detailing your _many_ mistakes. Until then… good job." I looked up from the ground and turned to Batman. "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success. And how you choose who leads… determines character."

We all looked at each, and exchanged smiles.

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**A/N:** The review button is your friend~ 3


	5. Schooled

**A/N:** Special thanks to** jellymonstar1**, **Mjmjmjmj**, and** Lexibob1** for reviewing! :) Anyone that reviews'll get a shout-out in each chapter. :D To answer your question,** Lexibob1**, Verena's just a human and you'll see them in civvies eventually. ;)

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**GOTHAM CITY  
****AUGUST 3, 2010  
****07:06 EDT**

"Morning Alfred," I yawned, stepping into the room. I rubbed the sleepiness out of my eyes as I plopped myself onto my usual seat at the dining table.

"What time did you get back last night?" Dick asked me before shoving part of his pancake in his mouth. "It was one when I was done."

"A little past two," I muttered. "I had to stop two muggings and one attempted rape on my way back." I noticed that Bruce's seat was empty. "Bruce already left for Metropolis?"

"Yes, Miss Verena," Alfred replied, placing my plate of breakfast in front of me. "Master Bruce has also reminded me to inform you two that you two are on duty here until twelve-thirty. You have training with Black Canary at the Cave at one."

I quickly finished my breakfast, eager to go on patrol. Who wouldn't? We gave a quick good-bye to Alfred before heading down to the Batcave.

I quickly changed into my Black Falcon uniform in one of the changing areas and stepped out, adjusting my mask. Robin was already on the Batcomputer, looking up any information.

"There's not much going on," Robin said, tapping into various security cameras.

"Then let's just hang out on some rooftops," I suggested. "It's Gotham."

"True," Robin shrugged. He switched off the Batcomputer and the two of us left for patrol.

A few minutes later, I found myself perched on top of a Wayne Enterprises building, sitting on the edge of the roof, but away from the public eye. Patrol was fun, but it was kind of slow in the morning.

"This is so not aster right now," Robin sighed from beside me, a bit reluctant.

I looked at him strangely. "Aster?" I repeated.

"Well, disaster means things are going wrong, right?" Robin asked, turning to me. "Then that means aster means things are going right." It was another one of Robin's questioning the English language things again.

"Doubted, but noted," I nodded slowly. "But wouldn't that mean it _is_ aster right now? Because there's no crime going on, things are going right. Therefore, it would be a disaster if crime happened right now."

"Point taken," Robin replied, nodding his head.

So that's what Robin and I did for the next five hours. Talked. There were periods of silences between us, but it wasn't like it was awkward or anything.

I was actually quite comfortable being in a room with just Robin and not talking at all. We once went three hours without talking even though we were in the same room. We were just reading a book we had to read for English.

After a quick round around Gotham one last time, Robin and I headed to the Cave.

We found Kaldur and Wally played a holographic version of air hockey while M'gann watched on. Wally scored another goal and grinned appreciatively before taking a bite of his banana.

"_Recognized: Superboy: B-Zero-Five."_

"Hi Superboy," M'gann greeted. "How was Metropolis?" The clone just walked past all of us without a word, obviously angry.

A female voice cleared her throat and I turned my attention. "Ready for training, everyone?" Black Canary asked, approaching us with Martian Manhunter.

"Black Canary," M'gann greeted. "Uncle J'onn!" she exclaimed, running over to him. She hugged him and then stepped back.

"M'gann," Martian Manhunter greeted. "I was… in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd drop by to see how you were adjusting."

"A few bumps, but, I'm learning!" Miss Martian smiled.

"That's all I can ask," Martian Manhunter nodded, smiling softly.

From my peripheral vision, I saw Superboy walking away, but Black Canary called out to him. "Stick around. Class is in session."

She stepped to the center of the platform, and it lit up. "I consider it an honor to be your teacher," Black Canary said, facing us. "I'll throw a lot at you. Everything I've learned from my own mentors…" She began to take off her jacket, and winced. "And my own bruises."

"What happened?" M'gann asked, worried.

"The job," Canary replied shortly. She tossed her jacket to the side, propping her hands on her waist. "Now, combat is about controlling conflict. Putting the battle on your terms. You should always be acting, never _re_acting. I'll need a sparring partner."

"Right here!" Wally raised his hand. "Yeah!" He stepped forward to face Black Canary. While finishing his banana, he said, "After this…" He finished the rest of his banana and aimed it at the nearby trash can. "_Swish_." He tossed the peel into it. "I'll show you _my_ moves." He grinned at Black Canary.

Black Canary grinned and attacked, but Wally blocked the first punch. However, Canary dropped to the ground and knocked Wally off of his feet with a low kick. A circle appeared around Kid Flash as he groaned in pain. I took notice that it recognized him as Kid Flash and there was a status, and in red, it read: "FAIL". Nice.

"Ugh…" Wally groaned on the ground. "It hurts so good…"

"Good block," Canary complimented, helping him up. "But did anyone see what he did wrong?"

"Ooh! Ooh!" Robin raised his hand eagerly. "He hit on teacher and got served?!" I stifled a laugh.

"_Dude_!" Wally called out at his best friend.

I thought about what Black Canary told us before she fought Wally and about Batman's lessons. "He allowed you to dictate the terms?"

Black Canary looked at me and smiled. "That correct, Black Falcon. He allowed me to dictate the terms of–"

"Oh please," Superboy interrupted. "With my powers, the battle's _always_ on my terms. I'm a living weapon and this is a waste of my time."

Black Canary turned her attention to Superboy. "Prove it."

Superboy walked forward and Wally stepped back so he was standing in-between Kaldur and me. Superboy threw a punch, but Black Canary caught it and flipped him onto the floor.

Robin pointed and laughed at Superboy and Kaldur nudged him, making him cover his mouth. He was still shaking from laughter though. I don't know why, but Robin's laughter was still contagious to this day. A small flitter of a smile appeared on my face.

"You're angry, good," Canary said, looking at Superboy. "But don't react to it. _Channel_ that anger–" And of course, Superboy angrily charged at Black Canary. She flipped over him and swiped him from under his feet. Nice.

Robin continued to stifle his laughter beside me and I shook my head.

"That's it!" Superboy roared angrily, ignoring Canary's hand to help him up. "I'm done!"

"Training is mandatory," Black Canary replied as the circle stopped glowing.

Before Superboy could reply, there was an incoming transmission, and Batman appeared on the screen.

"Batman to the Cave. Five hours ago, a new menace attacked Green Arrow and Black Canary," Batman reported. A satellite feed appeared on the screen and I saw the Leaguers attacking some robot. "The attacker was capable of studying then duplicating the powers and abilities of its opponents. Arrow called in reinforcements, which nearly proved disastrous as our foe gained more and more power with each new combatant."

"Whoa…" Wally said, stunned. "One guy with the entire powers of the League?"

"In the end, it took eight Leaguers four hours to defeat and dismantle the android."

"An android?" Robin inquired. "Who's made it? T.O. Morrow?"

"Good guess, Robin, but no," Batman replied. "Red Tornado doesn't think so."

"The technology bears the signature of Professor Ivo," Martian Manhunter said from behind us.

"Ivo?" My eyes went from Martian Manhunter to Batman to Black Canary then back to Batman. "But Ivo's dead, isn't he?"

Black Canary looked down at me. "Or so we thought… or hoped."

"To make certain this threat is permanently neutralized, we're sending two trucks carrying the android's parts to two separate STAR Lab facilities in Boston and New York for immediate evaluation," Batman explained. On the right corner, a holographic screen of a man appeared. "Every precaution is being taken. We'll have four additional decoy trucks to create confusion in case Ivo or anyone tries to recover the remains. You will split into undercover teams to safeguard the two real trucks."

"Yes!" Wally cried. He looked down at me. "Road trip!" I grinned and we gave each other fist bumps.

"So now we take out your trash?" Superboy asked, glaring at Batman.

"You had something better to do?" Batman quipped. "Take the bikes that are in the hangar. The coordinates are already sent to them."

All of us nodded and I rushed off to change into civilian clothes. I went into my room in the Cave, which I only used for sleepovers and what-not. I grabbed clothes that were suitable for bikes. They were black with blue designs, reflecting on my uniform. I hid the two guns I had on my thighs inside the jacket pockets and put my mask in their as well.

Two raps appeared on my door and I heard Robin's voice ask, "Ready?"

I grabbed a pair of sunglasses and placed them on before the door slid open. I grinned. "Yeah. Let's go." Robin and I walked to the top level of the hangar, and everyone else was there already waiting. Miss Martian only had to morph her clothes, Superboy didn't have to change, and Kid Flash had super speed.

I mounted my bike and revved the engine before putting on my helmet. "Looks like we're heading to Litchfield County," I said, looking at the map on the screen of my bike.

Aqualad headed out first, and we drove through the halls, past the Mission Room, and out of the front entrance, into the forest. We steered through traffic easily, but since we were in civvies, we had to stay within the speed limit.

**LITCHFIELD COUNTY  
****AUGUST 3, 2010  
****20:08 EDT**

The six of us waited quietly in the bushes as the workers began to load the parts of the android in two trucks and pretend to load more parts into the other four trucks. I noticed Superman look in our direction and squint.

The trucks started up and everyone put on their helmets. The teams were divided up into two groups of three. Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Aqualad in one and Robin, Superboy, and me in the other. Batman gave the signal for the trucks to leave and they moved.

The six of us shot out of the bushes and followed our assigned trucks. We drove in silence for a bit before Robin spoke up.

"If dislike is the opposite of like, is disaster the opposite of aster? See, instead of things going wrong, they go right," Robin started.

I sighed. "I don't think aster's a word unless you're talking about biology, Rob. Last time I checked, an aster was either a plant or microtubules during mitosis."

"They should make it one," Robin replied. He then glanced at Superboy, who was on his right. "Clearly, you're not feeling the aster. What's wrong?"

"Canary," Superboy scoffed. "In what business does she have teaching combat skills to a guy with super strength?"

"Taking down stronger guys is part of the gig," Robin said. "Canary learned that the hard way. Same with Batman and, well… Fal and me."

Superboy revved his bike and it sped up, leaving us behind him. I looked at Robin and he returned the look. _'I tried,'_ he shrugged.

'_At least he let out some of his anger,'_ I answered.

Suddenly, some things shot past us and attached themselves onto the truck. They looked like, flying monkeys?

"_Robin__, Black Falcon, Superboy! Our truck is under attack!"_ I heard Aqualad's voice through the com-link.

"We kinda figured," I replied, switching my bike to autopilot. I didn't fancy the battle mode.

"I hate monkeys," I heard Superboy say.

"_Robot_ monkeys!" Robin laughed. "Totally Ivo's tweak style!" He activated his bike to battle mode and told Superboy to do the same.

"No point," Superboy said before jumping off of his bike. I jumped off of my bike just as Superboy's bike headed straight towards Robin in me. Unfortunately for Robin, it hit his bike while mine moved out of the way.

I launched a grappling hook towards the truck and swung myself on it. Unzipping my jacket, I pulled out a gun and began shooting as many monkeys as I could. Some of the monkeys that were heading towards me were knocked out by Robin's bike's lasers.

I climbed onto the top just as Superboy was lifted up in the air by a few monkeys. "Superboy!" I called before he was roughly dropped on the ground. The monkeys' laughter was really getting on my nerves.

The monkeys cut open the roof, and started to climb inside, despite the people shooting at them. I slid inside, getting rid of as many robots as I could while protecting the two guards.

They just kept coming though. I shot a lot of them, and lost my balance as the truck began to swerve. This wasn't good. I grunted in pain as the truck began to flip over multiple times, throwing the guards and me around and around.

"Agh!" a guard called out. The truck stopped flipping and I grunted, wincing in pain when the box landed on my left arm. I was about to get up, but then the monkeys exploded the back door and flew out.

I let out a groan and climbed out of the truck while the other guard helped the injured one. We got out just in time before Superboy flipped over the truck. Superboy then jumped away and I walked to Robin, holding my left arm.

"Superboy!" Robin called out, but the clone just kept jumping away.

"_Aqualad to Black Falcon and Robin. We lost our cargo. Did you–"_

"It's gone," Robin sighed. "And so's our partner."

"_Aqualad to Superboy. Radio your position. We'll help you."_

"_I don't need help!"_ Superboy roared. _"Don't want any!"_

"_Superboy? Superboy!"_

I took off my helmet and pressed on my com-link. "I'm pretty sure he ditched his com."

"Super_!"_ Kid Flash cried sarcastically. _"Now we can't even track him!"_

Robin nudged me and I looked at him. He pointed at a broken robot monkey. I nodded and he bent down and began to hack it. I heard Miss Martian, Aqualad, and Kid Flash talking over the comm, before Robin found something.

"Maybe we do," he said, answering Kid Flash's statement. "We would've heard by now if the decoy trucks were attacked…"

"So how'd these monkeys know exactly which truck had the parts?" I inquired, seeing Robin's train of thought.

He nodded. "Hah! The parts have GPS!" A hologram of a map appeared. "The monkeys can track the signal! Which means I can track 'em with the one I've captured! Looks like both sets are headed for…"

"Gotham City?" I inquired, confused.

"_That far south?"_ Aqualad asked. _"M'gann and I won't get there anytime soon. I'm sending Kid on ahead to meet you two. Aqualad, out."_

I stood up straight and peeled off my jacket, which revealed my uniform. I saw Robin doing the same thing and soon, we were dressed in our normal hero outfits. Robin and I activated our bikes and they drove over to us. Mine was a bit mashed up in some places and only Robin's front was operational. Great.

"Definitely a disaster," Robin sighed. "Heavy on the _dis_."

We perched on our bikes, or well, Robin on his half-bike, and we drove off south.

Thankfully, this time we were able to ignore the traffic laws, heading as fast as we could to Gotham City. When it was dark, I noticed something approaching us quickly on the GPS as we entered Gotham's city limits.

Kid Flash appeared in-between us, dressed in his outfit.

"So you changed too," I commented.

"You kidding? Ugh," he shivered. "I feel naked in civvies."

I grimaced. "Nice visual, Kid." He tossed me a grin and then turned to Robin, who frowned at him. "What?" Robin just shook his head. "You still tracking the parts?"

"They were heading _through_ Gotham, but now they've veered," Robin reported, now looking down at his screen. "Wait! Dude! They're at our school!" Robin looked at me.

"_What_?" I gaped. "You're joking."

The three of us sped up and headed straight towards Gotham Academy, which, thankfully, wasn't really that far. Robin and I climbed off of our bikes as Kid Flash ran straight ahead, right into the school. The parts were in the gym, and Robin and I rushed there quickly.

Robin threw birdarangs while I launched a few air bullets at the android.

"Martian Manhunter," the android said, and began to fade out. He then turned solid as the birdarangs exploded on the other side of the gym. "Access: Red Tornado." A red tornado started whipping around from under him and he charged at us.

I flew back and felt someone grab me. I landed on top of Kid Flash and he groaned in pain. I quickly got off of him just as the robot appeared in front of us. "Access: Captain Atom."

Kid Flash picked me up and ran off just as the area we were kneeling on exploded. He ran behind the bleachers and then out on the other side of the gym. "Access: Black Canary." I shot at him quickly, but the Canary Screech blocked out my bullets and we were sent flying back.

I quickly got up to my feet and picked up my gun and pulled out another one, wincing a bit from the bruise I was developing. I set it to level eight and began to shoot rapidly. "Martian Manhunter," it said and became intangible. Kid Flash charged at him and I paused my firing, but the robot just grabbed him while saying, "Superman."

Something shot past me and I watched as the robot accessed Martian Manhunter's power, making Kid Flash fall to the ground. I threw birdarangs at the android and jumped out of the way just as the robot dodged Robin's batarang.

"Superman," it said and beams shot out of its eyes. Thankfully, Kid Flash appeared just in time and saved Robin. They landed on the ground with grunts and I ran over to them.

I heard Ivo say something but tuned him out, but Superboy heard him. He let out a roar of anger and charged at Ivo. "**WANNA SEE ME CHANNEL THAT ANGER**?!"

"Great, he's gone ballistic again," Kid Flash said.

I grinned. "Maybe not," Robin and I said, looking at each other.

"Amazo! Protect your master! Priority Alpha!" Ivo cried like the coward he was. Robin and I exchanged looks and nodded. We ran towards Ivo, who was on the ground being lifted by two MONIQs.

"Anyone wanna play keep-away?!" Robin asked, kicking Ivo.

"I do!" I cried and kicked Ivo out of my way.

"Me! Me!" Kid Flash called, and rushed towards Ivo, but jumped away just as the floor began to break because of Amazo's strength.

Robin and I threw birdarangs and Amazo became intangible. It was about to blast Superboy, who landed in front of him, but Superboy stuck his arm through Amazo's head just before it became tangible. Because it was unable to be fully tangible, its head exploded, and the body fell to the ground.

Robin and I ran towards it, and I was prepared to disassemble it. "Help me disassemble it, _now_!" Robin exclaimed, joining me on the ground.

"Dude, the guy has no head," Kid Flash pointed out bluntly.

"Don't take any chances," I heard Aqualad's voice. Aqualad and Miss Martian came over to us. Aqualad stopped next to Kid Flash and Miss Martian flew right towards Superboy.

"Superboy, are you alright?" she asked, concerned.

"Fine," Superboy sighed. He looked at Robin. "Feeling the aster." I grinned.

"Hey!" Kid Flash suddenly cried, making us all turn to him. "Where's Ivo?!" We looked around us quickly, but there wasn't a single trace of Ivo left.

Robin and I went back to disassembling Amazo, just as the doors to the gym burst open. Batman, Superman, Flash, Martian Manhunter, Captain Atom, Black Canary, Green Arrow, and Red Tornado appeared. They observed the ruins and then saw us gathered around the almost-fully-disassembled Amazo.

"You all alright?" Flash asked, running and stopping in front of us.

"We're good," I said, finishing the last part. I then collapsed back on my back and looked up at the ceiling. "Feeling the aster."

"You've got a _really_ nasty bruise right there, kid," Flash pointed at my left arm. I looked at my arm and blinked. Wow. It was nasty. It was an ugly reddish-purple and swollen. Why hadn't I noticed that?

"Must've been the cargo landing on it," I replied, still not getting up. "Thanks for the warning about that, by the way."

"Had to get the driver out first," Robin said from where he sat.

"The six of you hit the showers. Black Falcon, go get that wound treated," Batman ordered. "We'll take it from here. The mission debrief will take place when I get back."

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****AUGUST 4, 2010  
****01:06 EDT**

We were gathered in the Mission room, facing Batman, Red Tornado, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, and Black Canary. Aqualad was giving them a debrief on what had happened during the mission.

"Capturing the Professor will be a League priority," Black Canary said.

Martian Manhunter crossed his arms. "But we understand your mission encountered… _other_ complications."

The six of us exchanged looks and Batman stepped forward. "Complications come with the job. Your ability to handle them has impressed the League."

"The _whole_ League?" Superboy asked, and I knew he was wondering about Superman.

"Given time, yes," Batman nodded. "Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads." A flitter of a smile broke out. "Of course, there's no shame in asking for help. That's why the League exists. Because there are some problems even _we_ can't handle individually."

"_Please_," Robin scoffed. "If we needed help, we never get the chance to ask!" He pulled out the arrow that was launched during our fight with Amazo. "Look familiar?" Batman took the arrow.

"You were following us!" I exclaimed. "Do you still not trust us?!" I watched as Batman handed the arrow to Green Arrow.

"We didn't follow you," Batman said calmly as Green Arrow pulled out one of his own arrows. I looked at the two arrows.

"And… that's… not your arrow…" Robin and I said slowly together.

"But that means!" Robin exclaimed.

"Speedy!" Kid Flash grinned, looking down at me. We exchanged fist bumps.

"He has our backs," Aqualad commented, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

Kid Flash ran forward and took the arrow from Green Arrow. "Souvenir~!" he sang.

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**A/N:** The review button gets lonely at times. Review and faster updates! :)


	6. New Teammate

**A/N:** Wow. I'm updating this faster than I'm writing this story. OH DEAR. T^T It's Winter Break for me but I'm still swamped with work. :C Anyways, shout outs to , **Mjmjmjmj**, **livstar235**, **jujueyes**, **Nightwing's-Assistant**, **goddess of the nigth**, and **Redmissy100**! :) To answer your question, **jujueyes**, yes, Wally's flirting with her, but doesn't he with everyone? ;D

If you guys are interested in Robin and Fal's civilian lives, check out this story's sister fic, _**The Robin and The Falcon**_. :D

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**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****AUGUST 8, 2010  
****08:58 EDT**

"Have you both put on sunblock?" Alfred asked from outside our doors as Dick and I were getting ready for a day at the beach.

"Yes, Alfred!" Dick and I called from our respective rooms. The doors were open, and Alfred was most likely doing his daily dusting.

I threw an inflatable beach ball into my bag, along with some extra sunscreen. I looked over my open bag and grinned, making sure everything was in place. Today was going to be a good day.

"You ready?" I heard Dick's voice ask. I turned to my doorway and saw Dick leaning against my doorframe. A bag was slung over his shoulder and his sunglasses were perched on top of his head. He was wearing a pair of dark blue swimming trunks, with a red waistline. He had on a casual black t-shirt, and was wearing a pair of sandals.

I gave one last look at myself in the mirror. My white tank and jean shorts covered my black and blue two-piece, and I had on a cute pair of sandals that Dick had bought me at the end of the school year two months ago.

I grabbed my bag that was on my bed and swung it over my shoulder. "Yup," I grinned, popping the _p_. "Let's go." I walked towards him, and Dick grabbed the bag out of my hands, swinging it over his shoulder to join his own bag. I smiled in thanks and the two of us pushed down our sunglasses.

"Bye Alfred!" the two of us chorused, heading towards the grandfather clock.

"Have fun, Master Dick, Miss Verena," Alfred replied politely.

The grandfather clock opened to reveal the secret pathway to the Batcave. We walked over to the Zeta-Beam tubes and walked through it.

"_Recognized: Robin: B-Zero-One. Black Falcon: B-Zero-Two."_

"Hey, guys!" I greeted happily, going over to join Kaldur, M'gann, and Superboy, who were just standing in the center of the room.

"Hi Robin, Black Falcon," M'gann greeted us. "Those are really cute sandals," M'gann complimented.

I smiled, looking at her yellow bikini top and shorts. "Thanks. I love your swimsuit. Should we hit the beach?"

"Yes," Kaldur smiled, nodding his head. "Would you mind carrying out the hot dogs?"

"Not a prob," I replied, and grabbed the semi-large bag of hot dogs. Oh wow. It was heavier than it looked, but it wasn't a problem, considering how much I worked out.

We all headed to the beach, and I placed the bag of hot dogs on the ground. I peeled off my tank top and shorts, and kicked my sandals onto the sand next to my clothes.

"_Hello_, Megan!" M'gann exclaimed. "We should hit the beach every day!"

Robin sighed. "First: a moment of silence for our _absent_ comrade."

I sighed. "Poor Wally," I muttered quietly, shaking my head. He was stuck in school today and all of us were hitting the beach. Robin and I were actually going to start school today too, but because of the fight against Amazo, school was going to postponed for a little over a month to get it all fixed. Whoops.

Aqualad was dressed in a pair of blue swimming trunks and Superboy was wearing brown and white ones. I was dressed in a black with blue patterned two-piece.

Superboy and Kaldur placed down the coolers, and I grinned at all of them. "Let's hit the water!" I grinned. "Race ya!" I cried, running to the water first. I dived into the water and soon felt more water splashes.

I swam up to the surface just in time for Superboy to cannonball into the water. I laughed and splashed Robin, who playfully splashed me back. We stood there, splashing each other for a while until I went to grab an inflatable tube.

I placed it in the water and tossed the beach ball to Robin, who had called for one. M'gann and Superboy were on one team while Kaldur and Robin were on the other, with me as ref. They played around with it for a while and then my stomach started to grumble.

"So who else is hungry?!" I called from where I relaxed.

"Ooh! Ooh! Me!" Robin cried. He rushed out of the water and so did everyone else.

Superboy pulled out the grill and M'gann levitated some coal into it. We lit it up and started cooking some hot dogs.

"Ah, this is great," Robin sighed, leaning back on one hand, eating his hot dog with the other. "It's a good thing Amazo decided to fight out our school, huh?" He grinned at me.

I smiled back, nodding. "Seriously. We don't go back to school for another month."

We hung out at the beach, played volleyball, covered Superboy with sand, and just all in all had fun with hanging out until around eight o'clock, Batman arrived.

"I'd hate to interrupt your fun, but we need to talk," Batman said, not at all sympathetic. I looked at him through my shades and then nodded my head.

All of us got off of our towels and began to clean up. Batman walked back into the Cave and once everything was gathered, M'gann levitated everything away.

M'gann and I headed to the showers and we washed off the extra sand and saltwater. "You think we have another mission?" M'gann asked while I shampooed my hair.

I looked at her through my mask, which I had put on in the locker rooms. "I guess," I shrugged. "I mean, why else would Batman be here. If he just wanted Robin and me, he would've just called us alone."

I shut off the water and wrapped a towel around myself, walking out with M'gann. "You and Kaldur didn't get any action last week's mission. Aren't you excited?"

M'gann's clothes then morphed into her uniform. "A little," she replied sheepishly.

I patted her back. "There's no shame in feeling excited. Go on ahead, I'll catch up in a bit," I told her. M'gann nodded and flew out of the room. I peeled off my wet mask, tossing it in the dirty laundry pile before grabbing a clean, dry mask. I pasted it on around my eyes and quickly got dressed.

I was the last to arrive in the Mission Room, and I blinked when I saw Green Arrow with a blonde girl dressed in clothes similar to his. I stopped next to Robin and looked at him curiously. He shrugged.

"_Recognized: Kid Flash: B-Zero-Four."_

"The Wal-Man is here!" I heard Wally announce. "Yeah! Now let's get this party star–" He tripped over his own feet and I watched as Wally's beach ball bounce behind Red Tornado and Batman, stifling a small laugh. Wally let out a heavy sigh. "-ted?" he finished.

I let out a small giggle escape and Robin grinned.

"Wal-Man, huh?" the unknown girl asked. "I love the uniform. What exactly are your powers?" I was gonna like her.

"Uh, who's this?" Wally asked, looking around at us as he stepped up next to me. I shrugged.

"Artemis," the girl replied. "Your new teammate."

"Kid Flash," Wally introduced shortly. "Never heard of you."

"She's my new protégée," Green Arrow said, putting an arm on her shoulder.

"W-what happened to your old one?!" Wally exclaimed.

"_Recognized: Speedy: B-Zero-Seven."_

"Well for starters, he doesn't go by _Speedy_ anymore," Speedy announced. "Call me Red Arrow."

"Roy!" I exclaimed happily, skipping over to him. I wrapped my arms around him, hugging him.

He patted me on the back, acknowledging my presence. "Hey Fal," he greeted. I let him go and he continued walking forward. I took my place again beside Wally and Robin.

"How come you don't greet me like that?" Wally asked, pointing at Red Arrow. I shrugged.

"Roy, you look–" Green Arrow started.

"Replaceable?" Red Arrow scoffed.

"It's not like that," Green Arrow denied. "You told me you were going solo."

"So why waste time finding a sub?" Red Arrow pointed out. "Can she even _use_ that bow?" He glared at his foster father.

"_Yes_, she _can_," Artemis spoke up, looking up at Red Arrow.

"_Who are you_?!" Wally exclaimed, still not satisfied with just the girl's name.

"She's my niece." "I'm his niece."

Robin crossed his arm. "Another niece?"

"But she is not your replacement," Aqualad pointed out. "We have always wanted you on the Team. And we have no quota on archers."

"And if we did, you _know_ who we'd pick," Wally added.

"Whatever, Baywatch," Artemis sighed. "I'm here to stay."

"You came to us for a reason," I pointed out just as Red Arrow was turning to leave.

"Yeah, a reason named Dr. Serling Roquette."

The name instantly clicked. Robin activated his holo-computer and her accomplishments appeared around us in holograms.

"She disappeared two weeks ago, didn't she?" I inquired, propping my right arm on my hip.

"_Abducted_ two weeks ago," Red Arrow told me, "by the League of Shadows."

"Whoa!" Robin exclaimed. "You want us to rescue her from the League of Shadows?!"

"Hardcore!" Wally agreed, and the two did their weird guy handshake thing.

"I already rescued her," Red Arrow said. "There's only one problem." He activated a hologram and I got closer to see it. "The League of Shadows forced her into creating a weapon. The doc calls it The Fog. It's comprised of millions of microscopic robots. Nano-tech infiltrators. Capable of disintegrating anything in their path. Concrete, steel, flesh, bone…"

"But destruction isn't its main purpose," I commented, crossing my arms.

Red Arrow nodded. "It's theft. The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system and deliver the stolen intel to the Shadows." He handed the hologram to me and I took it. He then noticed something. "What happened to your arm?"

"Mission last week," I replied. "Truck rolled over." Red Arrow nodded while I downloaded the information into my wrist computer.

"Perfect for manipulation, power broking, yeah, sounds like the Shadows," Artemis commented.

"Like _you_ know anything about the Shadows," Wally huffed, crossing his arms. Artemis just smirked at Wally. This ticked him off. "_Who are you_?!"

"Roquette's working on a virus to render The Fog inert," Red Arrow told us.

"But if the Shadows knows she can do that…" Robin started.

"They'll target her," I finished.

"Exactly," Red Arrow nodded. "Right now, she's off the grid. I stashed her in the local high school's computer lab."

"You left her _alone_?" Green Arrow asked incredulously.

"She's safe for now," Red Arrow replied.

"Then let's you and I keep her that way," Green Arrow approached his foster son.

"You and I?" Red Arrow scoffed. "Don't you wanna take your new _protégée_?"

Green Arrow was about to say something, but was silenced by Batman. He then reworded his words. "You brought this to the Team. It's their mission. Which means it's hers now too."

Red Arrow scoffed. "Then my job's done." He walked away towards the Zeta-Beam teleported.

"_Recognized: Speedy–"_

"That's _Red Arrow: B-Zero-Seven_. Update." Red Arrow disappeared and Wally glared at Artemis.

**HAPPY HARBOR  
****AUGUST 8, 2010  
****21:53 EDT**

We were all guarding Happy Harbor High School, making sure to cover all entrances and openings. Superboy and Miss Martian were outside guarding the perimeters and Robin, Kid Flash, Aqualad, Artemis, and I were inside guarding Dr. Roquette.

"_Everyone online?"_ I suddenly heard Miss Martian's voice in my head.

"_Ugh. This is weird__,"_ Artemis commented, looking at herself strangely.

"_And distracting,"_ Dr. Roquette added. I listened to her rant on about how it was hard enough to decode and distribute the virus and now she had to listen to us think.

Kid Flash was dressed in a stealth mode and eating a chocolate bar on my left, eating a chocolate bar. _"Lady, do you always complain when someone tries to help you?"_

I grimaced when Kid Flash and Artemis began to argue in our minds. Thankfully, Dr. Roquette stopped the arguing.

"_She started it!"_ Kid Flash complained.

"_Whatever,"_ Artemis mentally sighed. _"I'm gonna go help Miss Martian and Superboy patrol the perimeter."_

"_Good idea,"_ I commented. Artemis walked out of the room, and the two of us looked at Kid Flash.

"_You might wanna cut her some slack,"_ Robin said. _"It was her arrow who saved your butt against Amazo."_ Robin and I exchanged looks and then grinned at Kid Flash.

"_What?!"_ Kid Flash snapped. _"No! That was Speedy- I mean Red Arrow's arrow, ri__ght?"_

"_Not so much,"_ I shook my head.

"_Hmph!"_ Kid Flash grunted. _"Still not giving her the satisfaction!"_

"_You _know _I can still hear you!_" Artemis cried.

Kid Flash let out a groan out loud and I shook my head. There was obvious tension between the two.

"_Couldn't get the Justice League!"_ Dr. Roquette mentally groaned.

Aqualad asked Dr. Roquette to track The Fog, but she was being _really_ negative about everything. But then Aqualad gave her a kind smiled and assured her that we would protect her. It made me feel all fuzzy and cheesy inside.

"_Tracking now,"_ Dr. Roquette reported. _"It's in Philadelphia."_

"_Now that she's tracked _it_, _we're _being tracked,"_ I commented. _"Everyone be on your guards."_

As few moments later, I heard Artemis think, _"Mhm…__ that boy."_

"_He can hear you!"_ Miss Martian called defensively. _"We can _all_ hear you!"_

"_Oh, I know."_

"_Black Falcon, you, Superboy, and Robin will pursue the Fog. Leave the rest to us,"_ Aqualad looked at me. I pushed off of the desk I was sitting on and nodded. I pressed the button to activate my jet and ran out of the school.

Just as we got out there, my jet arrived, and I opened the door. Robin, Superboy, and I ran inside and the door closed behind us.

"Ooh, Batman gave me an upgrade," I grinned, seeing that it was roomier and was able to hold more people. There were actually enough seats for ten. There were the same two main pilot seats, and then four more rows of two behind each chair.

Robin and I climbed into the co-pilot and pilot chair respectively and Superboy sat down behind me. It didn't take me long to fly to Philadelphia, and now I was searching for the STAR Labs.

"Robin to Aqualad, we're in Philadelphia," Robin reported. "We've located their target, STAR Labs, but…"

"We're too late," I finished, seeing the building crumble to the ground.

"It's destroyed," Robin reported. "Decimated. This is bad. STAR Labs is cutting-edge tech and now it's in the hands of the enemy. What's our next move?"

I circled around Philadelphia for a while, and then we got our new coordinates. "The next's target a Wayne Tech facility," Superboy reported, looking at the screen for me.

"What?!" I exclaimed. "In theory, the system software could be used to hack the–" I stopped when I realized Superboy was sitting behind me.

"The what?" Superboy asked.

"… Nevermind," I shook my head. "Doesn't matter."

"What does matter though is that Wayne Tech operators work twenty-four hours! We'll never evacuate the building in time!" Robin cried.

"Hold on, guys," I said and sped up the engines. I felt myself being pushed back from the force as I flew across the city to make it to the Wayne Tech branch in time. I slowed down once we were finally there and opened the bottom hatch. "Superboy, Robin!"

Superboy and Robin quickly unbuckled themselves from their seats and ran over to the hatch. "It's downloading!" Robin reported. "Just keep circling around until it's done."

"Don't need it!" Superboy suddenly exclaimed, and I knew he jumped off without looking back.

"It's heading inside!" Robin exclaimed. "I'm going on ahead first!"

I pushed the jet to go on autopilot and unbuckled myself. I ran to the bottom hatch and jumped down, swinging myself through the hole that was made in the wall. I ran after Robin, who was a few feet ahead of me.

"Unauthorized entry!" I heard the security guard yell, and the gates began to lower in front of us.

"Wayne Tech override, RG4!" Robin exclaimed and the gates lifted and I slid under quickly, since I was moving faster than it was lifting. "We need to get everyone out of here!"

"I'll get everyone, you get the nanobots," I said before splitting up from Robin. I ran down the hallways and up the stairs, pushing past multiple people who were running and screaming. "Head for the emergency exits! Wayne Tech override, RG8!" I called. The nearest emergency exit opened and people veered their direction and headed through the staircases.

I went to find Robin, who was in the cafeteria. "Yes!" he cried triumphantly. "The infiltrators have been outfiltrated!"

"Yeah, but this place is about to fall," I said, hearing the ceiling groan. "Let's get out of here." I looked at the cashier lady, and said, "Let's get going." I grabbed her hand and Robin and I rushed out with her, just as the floor above the cafeteria fell.

Unfortunately, that was causing a balance disruption, and the ceiling above us began to cave too. Robin ran forward and threw himself at the large glass window, and I saw him swing out. I pulled out my own grappling gun and jumped out.

The woman I was holding let out a scream as I shot the wire and swung around before lowering myself to the ground next to Robin. She shakily got out of my grasp and I smiled at her before leaving.

"Where's Superboy?" I asked, looking at Robin once we were in an empty parking lot.

"Right here," Superboy's voice said gruffly. He threw a tied up Professor Ojo at his feet. "Got my guy."

I felt a presence behind me and whirled around. Batman stood there, his long cape draped over him. He looked at all of us, then at the tied up Professor Ojo, and then at the damaged Wayne Tech building. A few seconds later, Green Lantern arrived.

"I'll take him," Green Lantern said, and a green light surrounded Professor Ojo. "Good job, you three," he said before flying off with Professor Ojo.

"Superboy, take the jet back to the Cave first," Batman said, looking at the tallest of us. "The Team will give a debrief in half an hour. I need to talk with Robin and Black Falcon."

Superboy looked at the three of us before nodding. I lowered the jet via my utility belt and programmed the coordinates to go back to the Cave. The jet then took off and Batman looked at the two of us. He then turned around and started walking towards the Batmobile.

"Shotgun!" Robin called and ran on ahead. I frowned and then chased after him. I jumped into the backseat and after everyone was in, the roof closed.

"Mission debrief," Batman said shortly, driving off.

Robin and I gave a summary of what had happened since we left for Happy Harbor High School, taking out the whole Kid Flash and Artemis arguments.

"I made sure everyone in the upper levels was safely evacuated," I said when it was my turn. "I did a quick scan of the security cameras when I was running back to Robin."

"All parts of the Fog were successfully taken down and deleted," Robin reported lastly.

Batman nodded his head, smoothly swerving through the empty street that led to our house. "I'll drop you two at home first. I'll talk to the rest of the Team myself." Just as he said that, he entered out gates, stopping at the front door.

Robin and I knew it wasn't a time to complain, so we climbed out without a second thought. Batman drove off as soon as we were out, and Robin looked at me.

I arched a brow back. _'__You gonna find out who Artemis is?'_

Robin grinned. _'Was there ever any doubt?'_

I shrugged and followed him to the Batcave. Batman set a security code for us to decode, most likely knowing that we were going to snoop. It took a couple minutes to override the code, and we were soon looking at information about Artemis.

"She's not G.A.'s niece," Robin commented, looking at the family information. "She's Sportsmaster and Huntress's daughter!"

I pursed my lips.

Robin looked at me. "I mean, Green Arrow and Batman might have their reasons for keeping this from us! I mean, it's not like Artemis is bad. She saved us."

I shrugged. "Doesn't matter."

Robin looked at me before peeling off his mask. "V," he started, and I shrugged again. "Sure her lineage is bad, but it doesn't mean that she's bad. Evil isn't hereditary."

Knowing he was trying to comfort me, I gave him a small smile back. "Thanks."

Robin smiled and hugged me, which I gladly returned. I took in his scent, which was a bit of dirt, sweat, mint, pine, and Robin. He pulled back, and gave me a peck on the forehead.

That sure surprised me.

I looked up at him, shocked, and he looked stunned as well.

"I uh…" Robin stuttered, not really knowing what to say. "… Sorry?"

"Are you really?" I quirked a brow up at him, still in his arms.

"No," he answered truthfully. "It felt right."

I smiled back. "Then don't apologize."

* * *

**A/N:** Review, guys~!


	7. Clayface

**A/N:** Happy New Year, guys! Well, it's actually only 11 PM where I am. Darned west coast is always the last. =-=;; Anyway, shout-outs to **Mjmjmjmj**, **Redmissy100**, and **sailormajinmoon**! :) Thanks for your support, guys!

* * *

**CAPE CANAVERAL  
****AUGUST 19, 2010  
****20:48 EDT**

I did a flip in the air, dodging multiple goons that were heading my way. I gave a good kick to one in the face, knocking him out.

"I need to get to that rocket," Batman told us, punching a goon out of the way.

"Roger that!" Robin and I called, taking out four more goons.

Robin did a somersault in the air, "We'll run interference!"

I shot a goon in the gut and grinned at Batman. "Happy hunting~" I sung before whirling around and punching the henchman that was heading towards me.

Batman ran through the path Robin and I made for him, heading towards the rocket that was going to be launched. "Robin!" I called, seeing Batman getting stopped by someone.

"On it!" he called, rushing past me.

I cleared him a path by shooting down six goons that were going in to stop him. "I love my job," I sighed to myself. I did a triple somersault in the air before landed next to Robin. I watched as Ubu was dragged away by the truck. I grinned to myself, but then frowned when Robin elbowed me.

'_What?!'_ I snapped, looking at him. He pointed upwards and I followed his finger. Talia al Ghul was holding a gun right at Batman's face. Oh…

Robin looked at me. _'Yeah, oh.'_ He pressed on his com-link and called, "Robin to Batcave. You seeing this?" Batman was able to say something to Talia, making her unable to shoot him, and he used the Batrope to get away.

Robin and I followed stealthily, climbing the large rocket with ease. I hoisted myself up just in time to hear Ra's al Ghul bragging about his plan. Why do criminals do that? While Batman was keeping Ra's al Ghul busy, Robin and I disconnected the diamond from the rocket.

"This remote will launch the rocket now. You see, Detective, I've failed in the past by underestimating you. Not this time…"

"This time, _I'm_ not the one you underestimated…" Batman said emotionlessly.

He stepped to the side and I grinned at Ra's, waving. "Hi!"

"Gotcher nose… cone lens!" Robin grinned, waving the diamond.

"No!" Ra's al Ghul cried.

I looked at Robin. "Why do the bad guys _always_ say 'no'? They see us standing here with the thing, and they _still_ say 'no'."

Robin shrugged in response. "You're in denial, Ra's," he said. "Ever thought of trying _re-nial_ instead?" He dropped the diamond lens, and Ra's let out a scream, jumping after it. "_**Wait**_! I didn't mean for–"

_Thud!_

I winced as I saw Ra's land on the concrete ground, blood seeping out of his unmoving body. I was still looking down below, but I could see part of Batman's cape flying in the wind.

"She's going to hate me for that," he said simply.

"You?" Robin asked. "But I'm the one who…"

"_This is hardly your fault, Master Dick,"_ Alfred's voice appeared on the com-link. _"__And in any case, Miss al Ghul's father's deaths tend to stay _temporary_."_

"None of which will matter to Talia," Batman replied simply.

"Which bothers you… _because_…?" I looked up at Batman curiously. He chose to ignore me and I jutted my bottom lip out in disappointment. Man, I hated it when he did that. I turned back to look down below and saw Talia and Ubu walking away, retreating to a helicopter.

My hair whipped wildly behind me, along with Batman and Robin's capes as the helicopter started off and they flew away into the sunset.

"_Master Bruce, Master Dick, Miss Verena. I have an emergency alert from Red Tornado. A member of the family has passed."_

I pressed on my com-link. "What? Who?"

"_Mister Kent Nelson,"_ Alfred replied. I blinked. Doctor Fate. He was over a hundred years old. I suppose it was only a matter of time. _"The Team was assigned to rescue Mr. Nelson, who had become a captive of Klarion. The Team was able to retrieve him, but Mr. Nelson has passed on."_

"Understood," Batman said. "Prepare for Kent Nelson's funeral. Has the rest of the League been informed?"

"_Yes sir."_

**GOTHAM CITY  
****AUGUST 26, 2010  
****08:00 EDT**

"I don't see why we have to go too," I said to Dick, who was sitting behind me.

It's been almost a week since our encounter with Ra's al Ghul, and we haven't heard about anything from him. Guess he was laying low since we did kill him. Five days ago was Kent Nelson's funeral, and the entire Justice League and the whole Team was there, paying our respects.

Right now, Bruce, Dick, and I were currently on our way to Wayne Industries. Apparently, Bruce got some new package, and he told us to come along as well.

Dick shrugged, looking at me with his blue eyes. He didn't see why either. Alfred stopped in front of the large building, and I waited patiently.

The car door on Bruce's side open and Bruce stepped out first. He then extended a hand and helped me out, before Dick slid out cleanly. Alfred closed the door and nodded his head at us before he got in the car and drove back home.

Dick and I followed Bruce into the building quietly. My hands were shoved inside the pockets of my shorts, my hair primed and proper for a day out.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw a rather large container of… _something_ sitting smack-dab in the middle of the lobby.

"Bruce!" Lucius came over to us, giving Bruce a friendly handshake-hug. Then he turned to us. "My, my. Dick and Verena. It's been quite a while since I've seen you two."

"Lucius," Dick and I greeted politely, nodding our heads.

"So what's this about, Lucius?" Bruce asked, turning to his business partner.

"Not sure, Bruce. This arrived, addressed to you. No return address."

"Has it been scanned?" Bruce placed a thoughtful hand on his chin.

"Post-9/11? Of course. But it appears to be… _mud_," Lucius informed.

I felt some pressure on my shoulders and turned to see Dick with his arm around me. "Wanna grab a bite after this?"

"We just had breakfast, Dick," I commented before turning to face him. I blinked when I noticed that his face was awfully close to mine. I flushed and took a step away from him.

I could tell he wanted to say something, but then a crack caught my attention. There was a loud bang and then some strange creature popped out, letting out a roar of anger. A _Clayface_?

Dick and I turned around to run while the rest of the employees ran for their lives as well. I hid behind a large pole, taking off my clothes so I was fully dressed in my Black Falcon outfit.

I joined Batman and Robin, who were coming out just now as well. I charged towards the creature, but then it let out a roar before attacking me with some strange mud-like substance.

"Fal!" I heard Robin cry before I was slammed through the glass of the building. I landed on a car and heard pedestrians screaming. I was on all fours when something hit me and I grunted, being knocked back.

"Rob… get off me," I grunted, before pushing Robin away from me. I ignored the disgusting stench of the mud and pulled out my taser gun.

I aimed at the creature and shot it just as it destroyed a car. I barely registered Batman and Robin doing the same thing, because I was focused on the creature. I activated the taser, and it shot pulses of electric waves at it, making it let out a cry of pain.

"Really thought he's be a little less sheveled after that…" Robin commented from beside me, seeing as it was over the initial shock.

It let out a roar and went to slam its gigantic fist on us. I jumped out of the way just in time. I did a flip over it, but then some mud shot out from its back and slammed me against the wall. I groaned and slid down the building, landing with a soft thud.

"Howwwww?" the creature groaned, slowly disappearing into the sewer. "Howww diiiid thiiiis haaaaappeeeen?"

Batman went over to the escaping creature, but it was too late. He scooped up some of the mud and put it away.

"We're going in the sewers, aren't we?" I asked, looking at Batman. He had already opened the entrance and just jumped in. I put away my taser gun and frowned.

Robin patted my back. "Let's go," he said and I followed him. We jumped down, landing on the concrete of the small path in the sewers.

I pulled out my small flashlight from my utility belt and lit up the dark path. I looked around, but didn't see any trace of the Clayface.

"Split up," Batman ordered. "Don't leave a single area unchecked. Radio in if you find something." He then walked on ahead, leaving Robin and me still under the light from the surface.

"I'll take this side," Robin said, pointing to our right. "You take back there." He pointed behind us, which was the opposite direction Batman took. I nodded and headed off into the darkness.

The only thing that kept me company was the sound of my footsteps and the water trickles. Oh, and the occasional rats here and there. I don't know how long I was under here, but I wouldn't doubt that the day was pretty much over by the time I finished circling through the sewers of Gotham.

I pressed on my com-link. "Black Falcon to Batman and Robin. I've finished searching. There's nothing except for some rats."

"_Understood. Robin?"_

"_Ugh. Found some really nasty rat corpse."_

I scrunched my nose in disgust. "Gross, Rob. Didn't need to tell us that."

"_Rendezvous at the Batcave in fifteen."_

I hoisted myself out of the nearest exit and breathed a sigh of relief when fresh air entered my lungs. I found myself in the slums of Gotham and tried to find the nearest Zeta-Beam teleporter.

It took a while to find one, but I did eventually. It was dark out, so I probably had all of this gunk in my hair and clothes for over twelve hours, which was _disgusting_. I was going to have to shower five times in the next couple of days to get rid of this stench.

I found myself in the Batcave and Batman was already there, along with Robin. They were still covered in gunk.

"Can I take a shower now and wash all of this _crap_ out of me?" I asked, approaching the two.

"In a few minutes," Batman said. I noticed that he was patching a call to the Team. "Attention, Team," he addressed, and I saw Aqualad, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, and Superboy there.

I crossed my arms, not really happy about being here.

"Take a Zeta-Tube to Gotham City immediately and rendezvous with Robin and Black Falcon at these coordinates as soon as possible."

"_What is the mission?"_ Aqualad asked patiently.

Kid Flash looked at us curiously and then asked, _"Shouldn't we wait for Artemis?"_

"No waiting. There's a creature loose in my city," Batman replied.

Superboy crossed his arms then. _"If it's _your _city, why are _we_ hunting it?"_

I resisted the urge to scoff. _'It's 'cause we got owned.'_

Batman chose to ignore him. "You are _not_ to hunt or engage it. _Track_ it until I return with the solution." He then disconnected with the Team and looked at Robin and me. "Hit the showers and rendezvous with the Team."

He then stood up from his chair and walked to the lab area of the Batcave. Robin and I quickly left the Batcave and went straight to our rooms.

I dumped all of my filthy, disgusting clothes into the dirty laundry basket and hopped into the shower. I shampooed and washed myself three times, but I still felt dirty. Ugh.

I exited the shower and went over to my wardrobe, opening the secret compartment to reveal extras of my outfit. I pulled on the clothes quickly and slipped on my mask.

I checked my guns, and frowned when I saw two guns had their openings barricaded by goo. I went over to my nightstand, pulling at a picture I had of Alfred, Bruce, Dick, and me. I pulled it forward and part of my wall opened. I tossed the two guns into the open part of the wall, knowing it led down to the Batcave's laboratory.

I fought back a yawn, taking a look at what time it was. Oh geez, it was past four AM. I haven't gotten any sleep for over twenty-one hours.

I stifled another yawn and left my room, going down to the Batcave. Alfred was standing there, and was, oh dear Heaven, had two cups of something steaming hot on his tray.

"Would you like some hot chocolate to awaken yourself, Miss Verena?" Alfred asked, gesturing towards the tray.

"You're God-sent, Alfred," I let out a sigh of relief and grabbed a cup. I blew on it slightly and began to gingerly sip the hot drink.

Dick joined me a few seconds later and he and I continued to sip the delicious hot drink.

A few minutes later, Batman walked into the room. "Take the cycles. I'll join you when I find out what this Clayface is made of."

**GOTHAM CITY  
****AUGUST 27, 2010  
****04:49 EDT**

Anyone that had stealth-tech was dressed in it, and Artemis was missing for some reason. Aqualad was leading us through the sewers, followed by Miss Martian, then Robin, me, Kid Flash, and Superboy.

Something didn't feel right.

I whirled around, but then found myself pinned to the wall of the dirty sewer. Ugh. I just showered too. The others were pinned as well and I reached into my utility belt, pulling out an ice pellet. It exploded on Clayface, freezing his entire arm.

I broke myself free and detached gun from my thigh, rapidly shooting it to distract it. Meanwhile, the others had freed themselves away.

"AGH!" Clayface groaned before collapsing in the water.

"That was unpleasant," Miss Martian said, levitating above us. I was in the sewer water and wrinkled my nose in distaste. It was going to take weeks to get rid of the smell. "It was like tangling with a rabid Ma'alfa'ak on Mars."

"Unpleasant," Kid Flash agreed. "Sure... But kind easy. That thing was a pushover. What the heck was _Batman_ worried about?"

"What's a Malafak?" Superboy questioned before I was knocked back.

I fell into the water, completely soaking myself from head to toe in the dirty water. Gotham City is known for its pollution... Can you imagine the sewers? I pushed myself out of the water just as I saw the shadow of Clayface walking away, disappearing down the dark sewer tunnels.

_"Batman to Team. Report status. Have you encountered the creature?"_ Oh we did alright.

Aqualad replied, "Yes, Batman. Though the encounter was far from successful."

_"Tell me everything that occurred. I want details."_

"Ask him this: where's _Artemis_? How come _she_ gets away with skipping this _so-fun_ sewer party?" Kid Flash asked sarcastically.

Aqualad filled in Batman quickly, ignoring Kid Flash's comment, and there was a moment of silence. _"Black Falcon, I'm sending your jet. Coordinates are already entered."_

"Acknowledged," I responded. "I should have spare clothing on the jet too. Granted, they're old uniforms." We left the sewers and I spotted my jet coming out of stealth mode and land in front of us.

Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin, and I took turns changing into or spare costumes.

"Man, I need a shower," Kid Flash commented, joining us in the main area of the jet with Robin, where I was already seated in the pilot's seat. "I mean, what's the point of putting on a clean costume when I'm not _fresh_?"

"Oh Wally, you're always fresh," Miss Martian said from one of the seats.

"At least you _have_ a clean costume," Superboy responded, making me nod. Indeed. I turned on a flip to disperse most of the disgusting smell and freshen up this jet a bit.

"Yeah, an old back-up! No stealth-mode! It stinks!" Kid Flash complained.

"Actually, I think the stink is _you_, Freshness," Robin said, turning the co-pilot seat and sitting down on it. "But what about the creature?"

"I got a tracker on it while we were fighting with it just now," I commented, pulling up the coordinates that Batman had sent me. "Looks like Batman already knew I shot a tracker with one of the bullets."

"Once we track him, we should split up. Whoever finds Clayface radios in the rest of the Team," Robin piped in.

"And then we converge and kick some clay-butt," Superboy agreed.

"What do you think, Aqualad?" Miss Martian asked and I turned around to see what our leader thought.

"What?" Aqualad snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh, yes..."

I flew us so we landed on top of a rooftop, and we all piled out. Aqualad gave us the order to split up, and I went over to one of the windows on the rooftop and began opening a hole. I carved it open and moved it to the side before jumping down.

The sun was slowly beginning to rise and I resisted the urge to yawn.

"Black Falcon," I heard an all-too familiar voice say, and I turned around. Robin jogged towards me and asked, "Any sign of Clayface?"

I shook my head before turning back to where I was searching. "No... which is weird. This whole place is covered in goop." A shadow loomed over me and I whirled around, but was quickly knocked back before I could reach for my gun.

I grunted in pain when my back hit a crate full of items and fell on the ground. The boxes fell over me and I groaned in pain. Clay started to surround me, and the next thing I knew, I saw black.

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****AUGUST 27, 2010  
****07:57 EDT**

_"Recognized: Batman: Zero-Two. Robin: B-Zero-One. Black Falcon: B-Zero-Two. Aqualad: B-Zero-Three. Kid Flash: B-Zero-Four. Superboy: B-Zero-Five. Miss Martian: B-Zero-Six."_

"I need to talk to Aqualad. The rest of you, hit the showers and head home," Batman stated clearly.

"Head home?" Superboy asked. "I _am_ home."

Superboy, M'gann, and Wally headed off to the shower and locker rooms, and Robin, Kaldur, and I stayed behind, waiting for Batman to talk.

"Just Aqualad," Batman told us. Robin and I exchanged looks before we walked away, heading for the shower rooms as well.

Robin and I parted halfway down the hallway and I headed to the girls' locker room. I entered and immediately, the steam of M'gann's shower hit me.

"Oh hey there, Black Falcon," M'gann greeted me. I threw my uniform with a loud _slop_ on the floor and stepped under one of the showers. M'gann turned off her shower and left me alone.

I washed myself quickly, but it still didn't get rid of the disgusting stench. Like I said, it'll probably take days for it to be gone. Right now, I just wanted to go home and get to bed.

I finished showering and quickly got dressed in fresh new clothes that were in the locker room. I pulled on the last of my gloves as I exited the room, and Robin joined me, his hair damp from his own shower.

"Head on home and get some rest," Batman said as he passed by us. "I'm going to finish some stuff off first here."

"Alright," Robin and I acknowledged before walking over to the Mission Room.

When we arrived there, I heard one of the Zeta-Tubes go, _"Recognized: Kid Flash: B-Zero-Four,"_ meaning that Wally had went home.

Robin placed in the coordinates to the Batcave and the Zeta-Tube lit up, and I stepped through it.

_"Recognized: Robin: B-Zero-One. Black Falcon: B-Zero-Two."_

I let out a loud yawn and stretched as Alfred greeted us. "Good morning Master Dick, Miss Verena. Would you care for some breakfast or will you both be heading onto bed?"

"I'm going to bed," I sighed, rubbing a knot out of my shoulder. "You think you can wake me up for dinner later, Alfred?" I walked to the tubes that held our uniforms and peeled it off, revealing my black bodysuit I wore underneath my uniform.

I stalked off to my room. I was able to dress in a pair of shorts and a large shirt of Dick's that I stole a year ago before I collapsed on bed and fell asleep.

**GOTHAM CITY  
****AUGUST 27, 2010  
****20:04 EDT**

I sat on one of the weight benches, drinking a bottle of water with a towel around my neck. Dinner was around an hour ago, and now we were working it all off to keep into shape. I had changed from my large shirt and shorts to a pair of yoga pants and a tank similar to Dick's, but only black and blue instead of white and blue.

I watched Dick do multiple flips, sweating heavily, but I knew he was working off his anger.

He was probably jealous that Bruce had a talk with Kaldur earlier and not us. Yeah, it hurt me too, but Dick and Bruce had a really close parent-child relationship... further than mine and Bruce's.

"_Just Aqualad_..." Dick spat, his steel blue eyes determined. He did a flip and landed on one of the weights, but then lost his balance.

Of course, Dick being Dick, was able to land safely... ish. He did a couple back flips before his back hit the wall next to me with a thud. Angrily, he turned around and punched the wall with his non-dominant hand, leaving a small dent.

If I wasn't so concerned that he was mad, I would've been impressed.

"Dick..." I sighed, standing up from where I was sitting. I walked over to him and placed a hand on his damp shoulder.

He turned around, his eyes still sharp, but they softened when I kept my gaze on him. He huffed out a sigh. "Just Aqualad!" he repeated, throwing his arms in the air.

"Take a breather, Dick," I said, offering him my water bottle. "I'm sure Bruce just talked to Aqualad about his job as leader, nothing else. If he was going to applaud Aqualad, he would've done so in front of the whole team."

"It's 'cause I screwed up," Dick huffed, sitting where I was previously. "I can't believe I was so _stupid_ enough to be confused on which Wally was Wally!"

I sat down next to Dick, ignoring his sweaty self. I don't know why I did this, but I laid my head on his shoulder as he continued to rant.

Slowly, Dick's ranting died off, and he just tried to relax his breathing. He sighed before I felt his arm snake around my waist.

We just sat there, with his wrist on my hip, since he was still holding the water bottle I gave him, and my head resting on his shoulder. I could feel the anger and tension that he had slowly disappearing.

"Thanks..." he muttered, before I felt his face dig into the top of my head.

"No prob..." I muttered back.

This was a first, but I definitely could get used to this. Dunno why, but my heart was pounding quickly, but I guess it was from my exercising earlier...

The door to the gym opened and Alfred cleared his throat. "Master Bruce wishes to see you, Master Dick."

Dick and I looked over at Alfred, and I handed my partner my towel. It wasn't that damp, so it was still pretty absorbent. Dick took it and wrapped it around his neck, wiping away the excess sweat that my hair hadn't already absorbed.

We followed Alfred out into the back, and just as the door opened, a basketball came flying towards Dick.

The Boy Wonder caught it easily, and looked at who threw it at him. Bruce was standing in front of us, dressed in muscle shirt and some sweatpants.

"What's this?" Dick asked, looking up at our mentor.

"Training," Bruce replied easily. He gave a small smile. "Hand-eye coordination."

He looked at me and I shook my head. He grinned up at Bruce. "One-on-one?"

Bruce looked back at Dick. "If you think you can handle it."

I smiled as I heard Dick let out a laugh and dribble the ball around Bruce. "Miss Verena?" Alfred asked, calling for my attention. I turned towards him, inquiring him with my eyes. "Would you care to make some cookies with me for the Masters for after they finish their game?"

I clapped my hands excitedly. "Sure!" I grinned up at the man I looked up to as my grandfather. Alfred smiled and I followed him back into the manor, but not before I heard another one of Dick's laughs.

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**A/N:** Hope you liked this chapter! I was pretty giddy as I wrote the ending. xD Reviews are love, guys~


	8. Lost and Found

**A/N:** Okay, first and foremost, I would like to give a _huge_ thank you and shout out to** livstar235** for being my BETA! Yay. *applause* Anyways, now thank you to **sailormajinmoon**, **gwendelynchin20**, **Redmissy100**, **Mjmjmjmj**, **Kelly1432**, **Guest**, and **livstar235** for leaving reviews!

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**BIALYA  
****SEPTEMBER 4, 2010  
****11:52 EEST**

"_V!"_ I heard a voice call, and felt myself being shaken. I groaned, turning away from the voice I recognized in my sleep. _"V!"_

"Five more minutes, Dick…" I muttered, snuggling myself into the slightly warm sand. Wait… sand? I slowly opened my eyes and found myself surrounded by it.

Why was I in a desert? What was I doing here?

I shot up, hitting my forehead with something. "Ow!" I groaned, placing my head between my hands.

"Ugh," Dick groaned from beside me. I opened my eyes, rubbing the sore spot on my forehead. He was rubbing his forehead as well, trying to soothe the pain.

"Sorry, Robin," I said, it was then I realized we were in our uniforms.

"S'okay," Robin replied. The two of us stood up, pushing ourselves off the sand. I didn't feel so good. Robin was here, but where was Batman?

My stomach dropped. Was Batman captured? Oh crap, that wasn't good. I felt like a truck just hit me too…

I heard something coming and pulled Robin towards me, pinning ourselves under the shadow of the large rock. I watched a jeep drove past us, with two soldiers standing on top of it. Those uniforms…

I turned to look at Robin, but then blinked when I saw how close we were. He was staring down at me with equally large eyes and he pushed himself back, clearing his throat slightly. "Did you notice those uniforms?" he asked me, changing the topic before the previous topic was even mentioned.

"Yeah," I voiced out. "Bialyan Republican uniforms. But what are they doing here?"

"Better question," Robin said, looking at his holographic computer. "What are _we_ doing in _Bialya_?" He showed me the map, and indeed, Robin and I were located in Bialya.

I then noticed something that completely befuddled me. "It's September! What happened to _March_?!"

"Better radio Batman," Robin said, making me silently agree.

I was about to radio Batman in, but remember him firmly telling me, _"Maintain radio silence at all times."_ I placed my hand down from my com-link. Or maybe not…

Looks like Robin had the same idea too. I pulled out my computer too, trying to figure out what was going on. I heard Robin walk off somewhere, but kept looking to see if I could find anything.

"Bingo," I muttered to myself, when I saw something marked on my GPS. It was a location, and I supposed it was important, considering it was marked on my GPS.

"Hey, I found something," Robin said, approaching me.

"I did too," I answered, whirling around to face him. I blinked when he handed me a black cloth. I took it and stretched it open. There was Superman's S-Shield, but in a black background. What?

"Dunno either," Robin replied, reading my facial expression. "So what'd you find?"

"There's something marked on my GPS," I answered, showing Robin the map. "Wonder what it could be."

"Let's go find out," Robin told me. "But judging by how far it is, it's going to take the whole day to get there. But we'll be fine if we stay whelmed."

"Whelmed?" I quirked an eyebrow. Robin was a pretty normal kid with English grammar until one day earlier this year, he started creating all these eulogisms. I'm still getting used to them. Robin shrugged and we headed off through the miles and miles of sand.

"So like people are always underwhelmed or overwhelmed," Robin broached, as we walked through the semi-scorching desert. The good thing about working with Batman? You're pretty tolerant with the weather. "But why isn't anyone ever just whelmed?"

"It's probably just like a given, or something, so people don't really need to share that they're whelmed," I replied, shrugging my shoulders.

"That makes sense, I guess…" Robin shrugged. "Can you pinpoint Batman's location?"

I activated my holo-computer and searched the proximity. Nothing. Robin had his holo-computer out, and was looking up where we were going. I glanced at my wrist and activated the time. Wow. Four o'clock already, and we're still walking through sand.

It was a good thing Robin and I had a decent water supply.

A round of "I-Spy" was quickly brought to an end because there was next to nothing out here. Bialya wasn't known for its diverse landscapes.

The whole travelling period consisted of Robin's rants of the English language, such as _whelm_ and turb, and a whole lot of periods of silence. But like I said before, Robin and I didn't have awkward silences; they were comfortable silences.

By the time we arrived near the GPS location, it was pitch black. There were no sources of light except from our map and the moon that was outside.

"Any ideas why we marked this place?" I asked, looking behind a rather decent-sized sand dune. There was a large, black box in the middle of the desert, but I had no idea why it was marked.

"Guessing that's why," Robin replied, peeking at it as well. We looked around and saw nothing. No. It was too easy. Robin and I exchanged looks, and then jumped out.

At that time, four Bialyans appeared from under the sand with rather large guns. Because I knew some Bialyan (all thanks to Batman), I understood when one of the soldiers yelled out, "Her Majesty wants them alive!"

Robin calmly dropped a smoke bomb, and the two of us used the confusion to our advantage. I grabbed the closest goon I could and gave him a swift kick to the head. Taking advantage of his pain, I pulled out one of my guns from my thigh and shot him at point-blank to the stomach at its lowest level.

I flipped myself over the other goon and then kicked one in the face, right towards Robin. Robin grinned and then threw some rope around the Bialyan, forcing him to fall to the ground.

I heard the sounds of guns cocking and then turned my head. There were a few more Bialyan soldiers and they proceeded to open fire at us. Well, this defeats the whole purpose of taking us alive.

I dodged through the multiple bullets, taking down a few enemies in the process, until I felt a breeze past me, which was accompanied by a black blur. The blur stopped moving, and I realized it was Kid Flash in a black uniform.

Now that they were unarmed, I pulled out an extra gun and open fired on the Bialyans, knocking the wind out of them multiple times while Robin and Kid Flash knocked them out. My back bumped into a familiar muscular back, and I knew it was Robin.

I felt a presence come from the side of me and turned. I was about to shoot when the Bialyans were mysteriously swung away from us by an unknown force. I looked upwards, and saw a Martian girl becoming tangible.

We all turned towards a Bialyan, who was quickly retreating, but some rope got caught around his ankles, and he fell to the ground. I turned to see where it came from, and saw that a tanned blonde girl dressed in green, similar to Green Arrow, standing on top of a sand dune.

"KF!" Robin exclaimed, glad to see his best friend. Well, besides me. "Man, it's good to see a familiar face!"

"Kid!" I exclaimed, running up to him.

"Hey Rob, Fal," Kid Flash greeted, just as happy. I gave him a quick hug and looked curiously at his outfit. It was a black and dark grey instead of his normal bright yellow. Weird. "Memory loss?"

"Six months!" Robin and I exclaimed at the same time.

"Let's hog tie these creeps," Robin began.

"And compare notes," I finished.

"I still find it weird that you guys do that," Kid Flash pointed out, but we proceeded to tie the Bialyans up nonetheless. I shrugged. It was more like a habit now more than anything else.

The five of us gathered up all of the soldiers, tossed them, and tied them all up. Then we gathered around in a circle, where the Martian, Miss Martian, as she was called, explained to us what had happened.

"...Wait, so we're a team?" I asked, looking around at all of us. Robin and Kid Flash I could understand, but I had no idea who Miss Martian or Artemis, the archer, was. If we were going to have an archer, wouldn't we have Speedy?

"The five of us and Superboy," Miss Martian explained.

Robin looked confused just as I did, but we didn't show it. Robin pulled out the piece of cloth he had found earlier. He held it out, showing everyone the fabric. "Then this must be his."

"Yes!" Miss Martian exclaimed, taking the cloth. "Have you seen him?"

"I think we did," Artemis said, looking at Kid Flash.

The speedster rubbed his chin. "Feral boy?" Then he scoffed, "Some teammate. He attacked us."

"He didn't know who we are," Artemis explained. "_I_ don't know who we are!"

"Didn't Batman order a radio silence for us...?" I asked, looking at Robin. "Our team must work for him!"

"How do you know we don't work for _my_ mentor?" Kid Flash asked, pointing at his chest. At that same time, the black faded from his suit and it went back to his regular yellow. Oh man, that's cool. He realized that too. "This is so cool!"

I tried pressing my chest as well, to see if there was any response. None. We didn't have a cool, black, stealth mode? Lame. I looked up and saw that Kid Flash was still playing with his suit functions.

"We look ridiculous!" Artemis exclaimed. Ooh, what a spitfire she was. She looked at Kid Flash. "Quit touching yourself."

"We need our memories back," I mused, looking around. As soon as I said that, I felt myself being transported mentally into a strange room. Glimpses of scenes appeared all around me, but what did they all mean?

The scenes all looked familiar, but new to me at the same time.

Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Robin, and I standing with our mentors in front of the Hall of Justice.

A boy resembling Superman tackling me to the ground.

Miss Martian coming and greeting us all.

All of us, sans Artemis, fighting some weird mechanical robot at a harbor.

Artemis drawing an arrow at someone.

The whole team, minus Artemis, covered in disgusting goo.

_"I brought you into my mind to share what I've remembered so far,"_ Miss Martian's voice echoed around us before she phased in front of us. _"But I need your help. Together, our broken memories can form a whole, if you open your minds to mine."_

Artemis crossed her arms angrily. "You wanna pop through our private thoughts?!" I get why she was angry, but I didn't know why she was so defensive.

"I have no wish to intrude but-" Miss Martian defended.

"You need to go through our minds to find out what happened to us," I shrugged. "That's alright as long as you just go through those."

"My brain is all yours, try not to let its brilliance overwhelm you," Kid Flash flirted.

"Or underwhelm you," Robin retorted, making me laugh. He grinned at me before turning his full body towards me. "Hey, why isn't anyone ever just _whelmed_?"

I shrugged. "Maybe it's because that's just when they're calm?" I felt something brush over the back of my hand, before a warm hand clamped around mine. I exchanged a smile with Robin, and he returned it.

I then closed my eyes, and I felt my head tug. At that, everything came rushing back to me. The Team. Speedy going solo. Red Arrow. Superboy. Miss Martian. Artemis. The Cave. Our missions. This mission.

The memories from last night.

My eyes snapped open, as did with everyone else. "Aqualad!" we all exclaimed at once.

"Where is he? What happened next?" Robin questioned.

"I don't know..." Miss Martian replied, looking at the four of us. "That's the last thing I- we, remember."

"Egh," I heard Kid Flash shuddered before I saw him and Artemis let go of each other's hands.

I looked down and saw my hand still linked with Robin's. I moved to pull my hand away, but he just held on tighter. I looked up at him, and just saw him looking at Kid Flash and Artemis.

"We landed twenty-four hours ago," I said, causing everyone to turn to me. "If Aqualad's been here in the desert for that long... well..." I drifted off.

"It's not good for a guy with gills," Wally agreed.

"Now that I know to look for him," Robin said, letting go of my hand. I frowned, immediately missing the contact, but didn't say anything. Instead, I looked at the map on Robin's holo-computer.

"He's close!" I said, seeing the blinking red dot. It wasn't all that far from where we were, actually. Only about a mile or two. "He's... not moving..."

"We better get moving, fast," Kid Flash said, and all of us nodded. Robin took off running, with all of us behind him.

It only took around five minutes to reach Aqualad, thankfully. Miss Martian quickly went to support him, and he began to mutter things in Atlantean. Something about him loving someone...?

"He needs immediate rehydration!" Robin exclaimed. "Call the Bio-Ship or the jet over!"

"She's out of range," Miss Martian shook her head.

"I can't use communication signals without them being intercepted," I sighed, looking at my holo-computer. "We can take Aqualad there instead, since the Bio-Ship's pretty far out." I looked at Kid Flash. "Can't you take him there first?"

"Babe, I'm too low on fuel," Kid Flash shook his head. "You're light as a feather and all, but right now, I couldn't even carry you."

"Can you _not_ flirt with her?" Robin snapped, slightly annoyed. Then he turned to Miss Martian. "Can't you levitate him?"

Miss Martian shook her head. "I can't. I have to find Superboy. Six months ago, he didn't exist. He has not memories. Just animal impulse. I'm the only one who can help him."

"Superboy's indestructable," Kid Flash pointed out. "Just ask those tanks. It's Aqualad who needs your help... like now!"

All of a sudden, Miss Martian grabbed her head. Then she snapped her head up, yelled, "No! Superboy's in pain!" and suddenly flew away.

"M'gann, wait!" Artemis cried.

"We still don't know what erased our memories!" Robin called out after her. "It could happen again!" But it was no use. Miss Martian was gone.

I pulled out my holo-computer and said, "We've gotta get Aqualad to the jet. There's an IV there. Looks like Miss Martian's on her own with Superboy."

We made a quick stretcher out of some sticks and some old pieces of cloth that was scattered about, and Robin and Artemis picked up the front while Kid Flash held onto the back. I started to lead the way to where the jet was located.

As we were walking, something caught my attention. I paused in my movements, and the others did as well. "Quick!" I whispered hurriedly. "Over there!" I pointed at a bunch of rocks we could hide behind.

We hid just in time as some Bialyan soldiers came driving by. Aqualad began to mutter some more things, and Artemis tried to soothe him gently.

"We can't risk a fire fight with Aqualad KO'd like this," Robin whispered.

Kid Flash sighed. "It's not just him. I'm _way_ outta juice."

I exchanged looks with Robin and he nodded. Artemis was almost out of arrows, so it left only us. When we came back, Kid Flash and Artemis were at each other's throats, and their volume was slowly escalating.

"_Yeesh_!" Robin complained, making them turn towards us. "Get a room!"

"Dude!" Kid Flash said, finally remembering the volume of his voice. "Where were you two? In a corner playing tonsil hockey?"

I flushed slightly, and since I knew Robin well enough, I could tell he was rolling his eyes. He pointed behind us where the Bialyans were. "Breaking radio silence," he answered casually.

At that moment, the exploding birdarangs that we had planted on the ground started laughing Robin's creepy laugh. It echoed all around the Bialyans and then _boom_! Sand exploded everywhere and I looked back at the others.

"That's our cue! Move!" I called, and we hurriedly went to pick up Aqualad and dashed off as fast as we could with an unconscious Atlantean.

We moved as fast as we could, with me leading the way. The jet wasn't that far away, only about five miles, and we were able to reach it in less than half an hour. Breathing slightly heavily, I pushed a button on the wall that activated the emergency bed and Kid Flash and Artemis moved to put Aqualad on it while Robin went to the cabinets to get a foldable IV stand and an IV bag.

Robin handed me the IV needle and I checked to make sure there wasn't excess oxygen inside before I placed it into Aqualad's arm. I looked at the time. It was 2:30 here in Qurac. I sat down in the pilot's seat and began to type up a report to Batman.

"_Hey, everybody!"_ I heard Miss Martian's perky voice in my head. _"I've got Superboy! He's back to normal and we're on our way!"_

Aqualad suddenly sat up at that time and Artemis tried to calm him down. "Who are you?!" he demanded. "And how did you get inside my head?!"

"Hello_, Megan! Aqualad's memories! I knew I forgot something!"_

"_Aw man, me too!"_ Kid Flash punched the air in frustration. _"I didn't get a souvenir from the mission!"_

"_Don't worry. Got the souvenir thing covered."_

I rolled my eyes and continued my report, with Robin piping some words in occasionally. A few seconds later, Aqualad sat up just as I finished my report. I sent it to Batman and turned around in my chair. "How you feeling, Aqualad?"

"A bit dizzy, but otherwise, I am well," Aqualad responded. "Thank you." He looked at all of us.

"Wasn't a problem," Kid Flash said. It sounded like he had his mouth full and then I realized that he probably went through the food supply I always kept. "This is really good, Fal. Where'd you get this?" I turned and saw him eating some of Alfred's cookies. Oh yeah, I was gonna eat some of them later…

"They're homemade," I replied and Robin grabbed two cookies from Kid Flash. My partner handed me one and I saw on my screen that Miss Martian and Superboy were almost here. I opened the door and the two flew in, landed neatly on the ground.

A few seconds later, a large sphere came flying in my jet and if I wasn't trained to keep my calm, I would've fallen out of my seat. "What is that?" I demanded, looking at the metallic sphere.

"Can we keep Sphere?" Superboy asked, looking at us.

I blinked, looking from Superboy's blue eyes to the metal sphere. "I'm assuming Sphere is… this?" Superboy nodded. "Uh… if Batman allows it, I guess." Speak of the devil. I got an incoming transmission and opened it.

"_Batman to Team. I've received your report, Black Falcon. Are Miss Martian and Superboy back?"_

"Yeah, and we've got a little friend here too," I gestured behind me to the sphere.

"_What is that?"_ Batman asked bluntly. I shrugged in response. He looked at Superboy. _"I expect a report from the both of you later."_

Superboy nodded. "So… can we keep it?" he asked, placing a hand on Sphere.

Batman stared blankly for a while, but I knew he was seriously thinking about it. _"You can, but it the League decides that it is dangerous later on, you must give it up."_

Superboy nodded and I pointed to the back. "There's an extra t-shirt," I informed him. "I restocked on new back-up uniforms and clothes for you as well."

"_Black Falcon and Robin, I want you to report back to Gotham City immediately. The rest of you, head back to the Cave on the Bio-Ship."_

I exchanged looks with Robin. _'Another mission?'_

'_Probably not now, but eventually,'_ Robin shrugged. He turned to the screen and said, "Got it." Batman nodded, and the transmission ended.

I whirled around in my chair and said, "Aqualad? You good to go?"

"Yes," Aqualad nodded his head. "Thank you again." He detached the IV line from himself and placed it on the bed. Miss Martian levitated the stuff back to its rightful place and Superboy pushed the bed back into its place in the wall.

Our teammates stepped out of the jet and I started up the engines, closing the door after they left. Once I was sure that they were out of the jet's way, I started began to ascend into the air.

I set my plane to fly at a Mach 2 speed, which would be able to get us home to Gotham in two hours and a half. Considering it was 2:30 AM in Bialya, it was 7:30 PM in Gotham, so we'd be home at around 10. Not bad.

**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 4, 2010  
****22:02 EST**

I stopped the jet in its rightful place next to the Batplane and turned off all of the engines. I peeled off my mask and sighed, walking down the steps and placing my feet on the solid ground.

"Would you like some dinner, Master Dick, Miss Verena?" Alfred offered, looking at us expectantly.

"Please," Dick and I answered at the same time, nodding our heads. My stomach was an empty pit right now.

Dick looked at me with his blue eyes expectantly. "Think we could get a day off tomorrow?" He too had taken off his mask once he got off the jet.

To regular people, he probably didn't look a spot out of place, but I knew he was tired. A few strands of his hair were sticking up and his eyes were almost red, but the light in his bright blue eyes didn't fade as we made eye contact. I found myself smiling at him without even realizing it.

"You will after I discuss your next mission," Bruce said, joining us. He was in his Batman uniform, minus the cowl. "I have some information to share with you two."

He turned his heel, walking away from us. It was a silent message for us to follow him. Dick and I did so, jogging after Bruce before walking beside him.

Bruce took his spot in front of the Batcomputer and loaded up some data files. At that time, Alfred came in with two steaming hot plates of mashed potatoes and steaks. Oh man… just what we need.

"Thanks Alfred," Dick and I said, taking the plates and digging in.

"Kobra?" Dick asked through a mouthful of steak when an image of Kobra loaded up onto the screen. "He's our next mission?"

Bruce nodded. "I have intelligence that he's planning something. As you know, his real name is Jeffrey Burr. Assuming you've hacked through my files and read through them while I was away." He gave us pointed looks.

Dick and I threw sheepish grins in Bruce's direction, and the man just shook his head. Bruce typed away on the computer for a couple more seconds and a picture of a man in a lab coat appeared. A man that I knew somewhat.

"Dr. Jason Burr?" I inquired before taking a hefty spoonful of mashed potatoes in my mouth.

"Kobra's twin brother," Bruce added on. "Kobra's planning something… something I'm still unsure about, but he requires Dr. Jason Burr to complete it. He's left hints. The Cult of Kobra has been going around, stealing strange artifacts that I've still yet to pinpoint. Tomorrow will be your day off, but starting the night after, we'll be watching of Dr. Jason Burr for when Kobra will strike."

"And the Team?" Dick cocked his head to the side.

"There shouldn't be any missions from what I see," Bruce replied easily. "If they are and they require you two, I'll send you two off. Otherwise, I want your full attention on this mission at hand."

"What about tomorrow night?" I asked, raising a blonde eyebrow in Bruce's direction.

"I'll be watching the doctor," Bruce answered. "In my place, you two will go to a charity ball for me. Alfred's already got you both new clothes."

I wrinkled my nose. "So we go to a social gathering for rich people while you do a stake out?"

"Problem?" Bruce turned around, looking at the both of us with a raised brow. He already knew the answer to the question before he even asked it.

"No," Dick and I mumbled, now done with our dinners. Alfred collected our empty plates and then left to go wash them.

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**A/N:** You guys, I think about this story everywhere I go. I was even writing **The Robin and The Falcon** in class on Monday and totally just ignored my entire Calculus lesson. D: And I thought about something funny in the shower too involving Verena. LOL. As always, review guys! :)


	9. Our Heroes

**A/N:** Thanks to **livstar235**, **goddess of the nigth**, **Mjmjmjmj**, **Stronger123**, **sailormajinmoon**, **Kelly1432**, **ZabuzasGirl**, **ywons54**, and **LunaEchoWillow** for reviewing! :) To answer your question, **ywons54**, you'll just have to wait and see when Zatanna appears. ;)

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**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 5, 2010**  
**16:50 EST**

"Master Dick, please stop tugging on your bow," Alfred chastised, attempting to tame Dick's stubborn hair.

I let out a giggle from where I sat on Dick's large, comfortable bed. I was already ready for the charity ball, but Dick being Dick, was having trouble with his hair.

"I don't get why I have to wear this penguin suit," Dick complained like he always did, trying to pull at his bow in an attempt to breathe better. A flitter of a smile crept onto my face as I watched his face scrunch up in distaste.

He was dressed in a dark tuxedo, and if it was in the correct light, it was a deep midnight blue. If he could get his hair slicked back properly, he'd be completely ready.

That's how hard it was to tame his hair.

I curled my already wavy blonde hair to make them fall like ringlets and had it fancily hung up with a few ringlets framing my face. My dress actually matched Dick's suit. It looked black at first, but it was really a deep midnight blue, and I had on a pair of black three-inch heels that I had saw when I was out shopping a couple months ago.

Once Dick's hair was _finally_ tamed, it was already five o'clock. Bruce was already gone, out to stop a robbery. We would've gone with him if it weren't for the fact that we had to get ready for the ball.

I grabbed the black Louis Vuitton clutch that Dick got me as a "just cause" present. We surprised each other every now and then with one. After him getting me the bag, it earned him the new Xbox 360 along with three new games he was drooling over and an extra controller.

Dick's eyes met mine in the mirror after Alfred left. His blue eyes held some kind of curiosity in them and then his lips curled into a smirk. "What're you thinking about?" he asked, making sure every strand of hair was in place one last time.

"Like you don't already know," I scoffed before my eyes drifted off to the Xbox that was on the ground in underneath his large, plasma screen TV. Don't bother asking me how large the thing is, it's over a hundred inches, and that's all I remember.

His eyes followed the path and he grinned when he saw the game console. "One of the best presents ever," he commented. He held out an arm and said, "Shall we?"

I smiled and placed my right arm through his, like we always did. He led us downstairs, where plenty of guests were already waiting. "You both look dashing," Alfred complimented, and we gave him our thanks.

"Dick, Verena!" a feminine voice appeared. I turned to see Iris West-Allen approaching us along with GBS's cameraman, Danny. "Mind if we have a word with the two of you?"

"No problem," Dick and I answered at the same time. Dick adjusted his arm and mine so that we were fully linking arms.

"Before we begin, may I just say that your dress is stunning, Verena," Iris winked. I gave a smile, saying my thanks. "Is Bruce joining you two any time soon?" she asked.

Dick shook his head. "He's got a business meeting somewhere on the other side of the world." For emphasis, he used his free left arm to wave randomly.

"I see that you two are matching," Iris gave us a kind, motherly smile. I knew there was a reason why she was my favorite reporter… well, besides the fact that she's Wally's aunt and makes a pretty mean meatloaf. "Are you two dating?"

If we were walking, I probably would've stumbled in my heels and fallen flat right on my face. Dick and I slightly tensed, but with Batman's training, it didn't look like it affected us.

I gave a smile and said, "No. He's like a brother to me." My stomach tingled as I said that, but I ignored it. I must've been hungry.

"Yeah," Dick chuckled. "She's my best friend." He looked down at me, his blue eyes sparkling with something… mischief, maybe? No… it wasn't that. He gave me a smile and I returned it.

Iris gave a smile like she knew something and nodded. "Alright, thanks for your time. Have fun, you two," she bade us before walking away with Danny at her heels.

Dick and I took our places near the foods table and I grabbed two glasses of non-alcoholic champagne from Alfred, handing one to Dick.

"Look, Babs is here," Dick pointed out, and I saw Barbara walk in beside Commissioner Gordon. "Wanna go say hi?"

Something caught the corner of my eye and I told him, "In a bit. I wanna go say hi to someone."

Dick nodded and walked away and I headed towards the back door, which led to a rather spacious garden. I sipped my drink, looking at some daisies. "Somehow, I don't think that's appropriate attire for a ball," I commented, keeping my eyes on a hummingbird, which was flapping around the bush of daisies.

"Wasn't planning on staying long," was my response. There was silence before I felt a presence land next to me. I looked from the corner of my eyes and saw Roy standing there, in his Red Arrow uniform, without his mask.

"What brings you to Gotham City?" I questioned, watching the hummingbird fly away. Its small body was like a blur, but with my trained eye, I could see it dart back and forth, before disappearing into the night sky.

Roy looked at me and answered, "I have a lead on Cheshire. I dropped by to tell you that."

"You tell Aqualad yet?" I inquired, wondering about his best friend. "It's strange that you're telling me instead of him."

"I'm on my way to," Roy responded easily. "There's intel that Cheshire's going to strike during the peace summit of North and South Rhelasia in Taipei on September seventh."

"That's two days from now… well, tomorrow, in Taipei," I said, turning to him. "Do you need money to get there?"

Roy scoffed. "I didn't come to you for money, Verena. That was only once."

I shrugged. "Once is enough. I'm actually on assignment from Batman for an unknown duration after tonight." I let my words trail off into the wind. "You just wanted to see me, didn't you?" I grinned up at him.

Roy looked at me, his face pensive. I knew he heard me, but he didn't reply. That was Roy for you.

I don't know how long we stood there, but then I spoke up again, "How's the solo life?"

"It's alright," Roy shrugged. "You mad I didn't accept your invitation still?"

I shook my head. "Nah. What you wanna do is up to you. If you ever need help though, don't be afraid to ask." I gave Roy a smile.

Roy looked down at me, his emerald orbs staring into me. His eyes were hardened, but then they slowly softened. Whatever negative thoughts he was having were put to a halt, I supposed. I couldn't read his mind as easily as Dick's. "… Thanks."

My grin widened. "No problem." He looked like he was about to leave, but before he did, I wrapped my arms around his waist. He stiffened at the contact, but then slowly relaxed.

It was still awkward for him, but he returned the embrace. I stood just under his pectorals, so he just wrapped his arms around my shoulders. We pulled away from each other a few seconds later and Roy gave me a thoughtful look.

I grabbed him softly by the collar and pulled him down towards me, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He gave me a faint smile and took a step back.

He pulled out his mask and placed it over his eyes. "See you around." I nodded and Roy turned around and left.

"You could've just joined us," I pointed out, whirling around. Dick stood there, with a finger sandwich in one hand and a glass in his other.

"You and Roy seemed like you two were having a moment," Dick shrugged, approaching me. "You were pretty hurt when he rejected joining the team last month. Figured you needed some brother-sister time."

"What brings you out here? I told you I'd be back soon," I said, arching an eyebrow.

Dick looked at me and said, "You were gone for fifteen minutes. Babs and her dad went off to mingle and I got bored."

"Well, let's carry on with the party then. The sooner we get the speeches done, the sooner it ends."

"I like your thinking, V."

"I've been told that, thanks."

**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 11, 2010  
****21:48 EDT**

I looked through my binoculars into the Gotham City Observatory. I saw a shadow sneaking in the building and finally, after five days of staking out, some action was going to appear.

Without a single exchange of words, the three of us headed towards the observatory. We landed on the open window, and I saw the largest guy there holding onto the doctor while the others just ran alongside him.

I swung myself down from the window, side-by-side with Robin. We both kicked one right in the face before doing a flip and landing on the large planet that Batman had cut off.

I dodged a falling Saturn as the large planet models rotated around us, some being cut from their cable because of our fighting.

I jumped out of the way and pulled out a gun, switching it to level two. I shot at two of the bandits while the Robin and Batman went after the doctor. I kicked one of the goons out of my way before I heard a loud crash.

I whipped around quickly, seeing Batman and Robin on the ground, with rubble of the destroyed planet all around them.

"You good?" Batman asked roughly.

"Feeling the aster, but fine," Robin replied, shaking his head to clear it.

I spotted something from the corner of my eye. "Stop!" I called, and whirled around. I aimed to shoot, but it was too late. By the time I got to him, he was dead. A silencing pill. Suicide.

"There's still one left!" Robin called and a birdarang whizzed past me. I ran towards the guy and before he could reach his suicide pill, I stepped on it, crushing it.

Batman grabbed the goon and proceeded to interrogate him while I joined Robin. "That the good doctor's nametag?"

"Yup," Robin nodded his head, popping the _p_.

I heard a thump and knew that Batman was done with his job. Batman walked over to us and grunted out, "I've found out where they've taken the doctor. Let's go." He proceeded to walk away, but then stopped. He placed a hand on his ear… an incoming message.

"Batman." There was a pause for the other side to talk. "Incidents in your cities?" Another pause. "We'll regroup in the basement in the hidden Zeta-Tube underneath the Wayne Industries hotel in Minneapolis. One hour."

"Comparing notes?" I asked, spinning my gun with my fingers.

"Green Arrow and Flash," he replied simply. "Let's go."

**MINNEAPOLIS  
****SEPTEMBER 12, 2010  
****22:00 CDT**

Comparing notes only took a couple minutes, and now, we were on our way to an abandoned new-age monastery. Once we were in the perimeter, Kobra goons popped out and began to attack us.

I pulled out two guns and jumped in the air, doing a flip to keep myself in the air a bit longer. I shot multiple times at the goons, making them fall one by one.

I landed on one of the tree branches and slipped a bullet into each of my guns. Since I was pretty high up, I wouldn't need an oxygen mask, but the others did. "Your oxygen masks!" I called before I shot down at the goons.

The bullets exploded, and green gas appeared. The goons started coughing and hacking, choking on the air before I heard thump after thump as the bodies fell to the ground.

Once the smoke cleared away, I jumped down on to the ground, landing in-between Kid Flash and Robin.

"Knock out gas, nice," Flash said, stopping behind me and patting my head. "Now let's go," he said before he dashed off. Kid Flash followed right after and the rest of us ran off after them.

To say it was a mess when we entered the monastery was an understatement. I didn't have time to check on the others. All I knew was that I was shooting as many Kobra cultists as I could with Green Arrow, Wally, Artemis, and Robin while Batman and Flash took care of Mammoth.

I felt a large shadow loom over me and jumped out of the way. The large cobra that was just summoned had attacked where I just was a few seconds ago.

"Fal!" Robin shouted over the destruction.

"I'm okay!" I hollered back before doing a roundhouse kick on a cultist.

The cobra then broke off part of the monastery, and began to slither away. "We'll handle the serpent," Green Arrow said, looking at the four of us. "You kids protect the hostage."

"_Kids_?" Kid Flash crossed his arm. "We're not kids."

"Says _Kid_ Flash," Artemis retorted, placing her hands on her hips.

Kid Flash turned to glare at her, but Artemis just smirked. I sighed and looked at Robin. _'I wonder if they realize we're surrounded…'_

'_Probably not,'_ Robin rolled his eyes behind his mask. "Hate to interrupt your latest romantic moment…"

"But we have work to do," I finished for him. Robin and I jumped off, attacking the closest Kobra goons.

"Excuse me!" Kid Flash exclaimed, knocking a few cultists down. "Pardon me! Coming through!"

"Guys, _focus_!" Robin snapped. "We've got to stop Kobra before it's too late!"

I moved to shoot Kobra, but my hand ended up getting hit by a goon, and I glared, kicking the goon before going after my gun. I moved to shoot, but it was too late.

"_**No**_!" we all exclaimed when we tried to stop Kobra. Robin grabbed a hold of me and shielded both him and me from the bright light that emitted from Kobra and his brother.

When the light stopped shining, there was a spiky, humanoid-ish cobra standing where Kobra was standing just a few seconds ago. He hissed out, "My dear brother's sacrifice is complete… and I am now the God I was always fated to be!" God complex, much?

"_All hail Naga-Naga! All hail __**Kobra**_!" all of the cultists, Shimmer, and Mammoth bowed to the large snake.

"Uh… okay, that's new," Kid Flash pointed out.

"Now," Robin whispered, "while Naga-Naga basks…" He handed a pill to Kid Flash then the two older teammates took off.

"Okay, let's dance, Kobramort!" Artemis cried, preparing to fire an arrow.

"Mammoth, Shimmer," Kobra called. "Contain the striplings."

Mammoth went to attack Kid Flash, but Kid simply threw the pill Robin gave him into the beast's mouth. "Surprise!" Kid Flash cried as the beast began to choke.

I went to Shimmer, and she began sparring Robin and I. I did a flip over her and aimed to trip her, but she jumped out of the way and I blocked her punch.

"Artemis, _now_!" I called and pulled Robin out of the way. Shimmer was aiming a kick towards him, and it was hard to stop in mid-air. Artemis shot an arrow with rope and it tangled around Shimmer, making her fall to the ground with a thud.

"All minions here?" I asked, scanning the area. All the cultists were knocked down, courtesy of Kid Flash, and the twins were just taken care of.

"But not their master!" I heard before something white rushed towards us. "Not their _God_!" The tail whacked all four of us, sending us flying towards the wall.

I quickly recovered though, and use the wall to push myself off it rather than to hit it. Doing a somersault in the air to continue flying, I pushed to level 8 and began to shoot the cobra multiple times.

"Can we hurry this up?" Kid Flash asked, running around to confuse Kobra. "I've got school in the morning."

"Bummer," Artemis said. "Mine doesn't start for another week."

"No kidding?" I grinned, landing on the ground beside her.

"Ours too," Robin informed her, before we jumped up again.

Kid Flash grumbled, "Yeah, yeah. Rub it in, will ya? Meanwhile, I think I've got a plan!"

I grinned through my shooting and dodged another tail whip. "You children prattle like buzzing mosquitoes," Kobra hissed. "But no plan exists than can defeat a God."

"Hey! What are you-" Artemis demanded when Kid Flash just scooped her up.

"Cover us," Kid Flash told Robin and me.

Robin smirked. "You got it, Romeo." He pulled out a smoke bomb, and threw it, making the smoke surround us.

I used this chance to get away and a few seconds later, Kid Flash joined me and we went to distract the snake. "Here's the deal, Kobie!" Kid Flash cried, running around. "I know your secret Kryptonite-style weakness… It's the dagger! If we destroy it, your _Godspell_ is broken!"

I see what Kid Flash and Artemis did now. I jumped out of the way, dodging the tail, but then it circled around before tightening around Kid Flash and me, squeezing us together.

"Hey!" Robin cried. "Those are my best friends!" He launched towards Kobra, but the latter wrapped his hand around the former's neck, keeping him in a tight lock.

I struggled to breathe as the grip got tighter and tighter around me, and I could feel the oxygen leaving me. Something whizzed past me, and I saw an arrow hit Kobra, emitting a bright light before everything went black.

**MINNEAPOLIS  
****SEPTEMBER 12, 2010  
****23:25 CDT**

"_Fal,"_ I heard. I mentally frowned when I felt my body being moved back and forth in a shaking motion.

"Few more minutes," I mumbled, rolling over on the cold ground. I furrowed my brows. Wait… cold ground? It hit me. _Kobra!_

I snapped straight up, and then pain on my forehead. I groaned in pain, holding my sore forehead the same time Robin groaned. I rubbed my forehead to alleviate the pain. "Sorry Rob," I muttered.

"No prob," Robin replied, rubbing his own forehead. "At least you're alright." He pushed himself off the ground and extended a glove hand. I took it and he hoisted me up with ease.

"No head trauma, right, kid?" Flash asked me casually. Gee, thanks, Flash. Don't even sound worried about me possibly having a concussion.

"I'm good," I replied, brushing the dirt off of my uniform, which was actually quite a lot. I looked around the ruins and went, "Well… it's a good thing this place is abandoned."

It looked like the inside of the Colloseum in Rome. Parts of the walls were broken, the pillars fell everywhere, dust and dirt was scattered around all of us. It was also dark out, except for the moon that gave us the illuminating light.

"You said it," Kid Flash commented, nodding his head. He took a bite out of his chocolate bar and then asked us, "Hey, what time is it?"

"11:30," Flash answered without missing a beat.

Kid Flash groaned. "I'm _still_ not done with homework!" He turned to Flash and asked, "Can we leave yet?"

"Calm down, kid," Flash said, placing a hand on his nephew's shoulder. "You've only got some chemistry homework today anyway. You'll be fine." He then looked at all of us and said, "But we should get going. I'll catch you guys later."

Batman and Green Arrow nodded their heads and the two speedsters zoomed off, leaving nothing but swirls of wind in the air.

"We should go too," Green Arrow said, looking at Artemis and then at Batman. "I'll catch ya later, Bats." And he walked away with Artemis at his heels.

Batman looked at the two of us and then I glanced back at him. I already knew what he was thinking. "I'm fine for some patrolling," I answered.

"I wasn't going to ask," Batman replied gruffly.

"But you were thinking it," I grinned, smiling up at the Dark Knight. Batman simply narrowed his eyes before turning his heel and walking away, his dark cape whishing behind him in the light autumn breeze.

Robin and I exchanged fist bumps and we followed Batman out of the monastery.

The Batmobile was already waiting for us, which didn't surprise me. It was a Sunday, so Robin hopped into the shotgun seat while I took my place in the backseat before Batman took off to the nearest Zeta-Beam tube.

**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 13, 2010  
****03:41 EDT**

I collapsed onto my bed, reveling how soft my sheets were. A chuckle from my doorway made me stop in my obsession with my fluffy bed. "Shut up, Dick," I muttered, digging my face into my sheets. "After Kobra, there was a bank robbery, five muggings, and one attempted rape we stopped. It's four in the morning."

I felt a breeze and then the left side of my bed sink down from Dick's weight as he laid down on it. I pulled myself up so that I had my head on the soft pillows and turned my face.

My eyes met Dick's steely-grey ones and I smiled, making him return the action.

"Your birthday's coming up soon," Dick broached while he made himself comfortable on my bed. He propped himself on his right side, his head supported up by his arm.

"Oh yeah…" I muttered, turning so I was on my left side. "What do you have planned for me?" I gave him a grin, making him look at me strangely.

The strange look in his eyes disappeared before his lips curled into a mischievous smile. "That's for me to know and for you to find out, my dear sister." I felt a twinge of disappointment when he called me his sister, but then again, what else would I be to him besides his sister, partner, and best friend?

"Tell me~" I almost-whined, reaching over to shake Dick's left arm.

Dick let out a laugh and then rolled over, pinning me under him. I let out a shriek as he dug his fingers dug into my sides and wiggled them, tickling me.

I didn't know how long he tickled me, but I slowly began to run out of oxygen and panted out, "I give! I give!" The tickling slowly came to a stop, and Dick grinned down at me, his eyes brightly twinkling.

He slid down off of me and landed next to me. I slowly began to doze off, now completely exhausted.

I felt Dick pull me close to him, before giving me a peck on the forehead. "G'night, V."

"Night, Dicky…" I muttered, wrapping an arm over him.

Then all went black.

* * *

**Next Time on****_ Black Falcon_**:  
"Nice choice of underwear."

"No, she's _my_ best friend!"

"I'm sorry, V."

"Thank you."

"You look beautiful, V. You always do."

"Dick…"

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so like, my BETA, **livstar235**loves Roy/Verena now. LOL. But of course, it's still Dick/Verena all the way, isn't it, Liv? ;)

Also, I came up with a ship name for Dick/Verena: **Lovebirds**. If any of you have any other suggestions, please, feel free to tell me! :D I also came up one for Roy/Verena. Lol. **Artillery**. But meh. Idk about that either. XD I'M JUST MESSING AROUND. THIS IS STRICTLY A DICK/OC FIC. But please do share any good ship names. :)

Remember to review, guys~! :D


	10. Happy Birthday

**A/N:** Whoot! You guys, this got **10** reviews in a span of **24 hours**! You guys are **awesome**! Shoutout time:

**livstar235:** Liv, omfg thank you SOOOOO much for doing all of this for me! I'm so glad you're my BETA. :'D  
**sailormajinmoon:** Thank you! Well, you'll find out what Dick has for Verena! I hope you'll like it!  
**Kelly1432:** I'm a Lovebird girl too. LOL. (of course) It's grown to be my OTP now. Ahah! Thanks for the review!  
**Mjmjmjmj:** Awww, thank you. :D  
**Stronger123:** I'm glad you're enjoying this story! Please continue to read it! :D  
**Helloimlxs:** Well, there's a difference between Batman and Bruce Wayne for me. :) To me, Bruce Wayne is the caring man that'll take time to smile and what-not. Batman to me is serious and stiff, so yeah.  
**Guest:** Indeed. I love Roy. :D  
**Redmissy100:** Thank you, thank you, thank you! Your reviews make me so giddy. :D Your prediction was correct for the most part. ;) Please enjoy!  
**dreamer:** Well, I don't know. Why don't you read and see for yourself? ;)  
**jujueyes: **I HAVE UPDATED A FEW MINUTES AFTER YOU POSTED YOUR REVIEW. LOL. CARRY ON, MISS.

Also, before we start, I would like to say that if any of you like **Avatar: The Last Airbender** or **Zuko**, please check out **livstar235**'s story,_** Into the World of** **Avatar**_. :) Also, this _might_ be my last update for this story in January. Finals are at the end of this month and projects are just overwhelming me. **I AM NOT WHELMED, GUISE.** I'll try to update **_The Robin and The_ _Falcon_** in the mean time, but please do remember to review! **CARRY ON AND ENJOY~!**

* * *

**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 18, 2010  
****06:29 EDT**

The loud opening and closing of Dick's bedroom door woke me from my sleep. Sometimes I wished I could sleep through a storm just like Wally or Conner did. But alas, with Batman as your mentor, you learned to sleep with one eye open.

The door to my bedroom burst open and I groaned, burying myself into my blankets, attempting to block out what was to come.

"Wakey, wakey Birthday Girl~" Dick's laughter filled my room. Ugh. I knew pouncing on Dick's bed last year on his birthday was going to come back and haunt me.

"Exactly," I mumbled. "It's my birthday. I wanna sleep in…" I snuggled in closer in my sheets. Ahh… fluffy heaven…

The next thing I knew, it was gone.

I let out a scream as I tumbled onto the floor. Graceful in fights, yes. Outside of them? Not so much.

"_Richard John Grayson_!" I roared from my place on the ground.

Dick's creepy laughter filled my room, echoing off the walls. It made shivers crawl up my spine, but in a good way. Weird. Wasn't it supposed to be a creepy feeling?

"Up and at 'em, V," Dick grinned at me, his steel blue eyes twinkling. "We've got lots to do today."

I quirked an eyebrow at him. "Lots?"

"Yup," Dick popped the _p_. "Dress nicely." Then he looked up and down at me in an… _appreciative_ way? "Nice choice of underwear."

I looked down to remember what I was wearing. It was a black t-shirt of Dick's that I had stolen a while back, and a pair of... _Oh my God_.

A pair of boyshorts with Batman symbols splattered all over. Crap. He'll never let me live this down.

I snapped my head back up to retort something, but all evidence that he had been in my room was gone.

I pushed myself off the ground and brushed the non-existent dirt off my clothes. Of course there wouldn't be any dirt if Alfred was in charge of cleaning.

"Oh," Dick poked his head back into my room, "Dress semi-formally and cute, alright?" He gave me a wink before closing my bedroom door.

I looked at my bed… Well, at least he did my bed for me.

I looked at my closet. Cute? I'm always cute. Semi-formal? I can do that. I grabbed a dress that Bruce had bought for me last year. It went past my knees, simple and plain, but hey, it was nice. I threw on my body suit before strapping a couple guns on, two on my back and one at my abdomen, before throwing on the dress.

I went over to the shoes, looking at the large variety of shoes. I mused for a bit before settling on a pair of black boots with three-inch heels. I strapped a gun on each leg before sliding on the boots.

I grabbed a small handbag, opening it to see the gun holsters, tank top, and boots I wore as Black Falcon. Thank you, Alfred. I made sure I had my phone and com-link in and left my room, heading downstairs.

"Morning, Alfie," I greeted, entering the dining room.

"Good morning and happy birthday, Miss Verena," Alfred greeted with a smile. "You look beautiful today."

"No more than she always does," Bruce greeted, kissing me in the cheek as he walked past me. "Happy birthday. Join me for lunch today at one?"

"Lunch?" I asked, confused. "No dinner?"

Bruce gave me an omniscient smile, patting my shoulder before taking his seat at the head of the table.

"You're stuck with only me for dinner, sorry to disappoint, V," Dick replied, coming up from behind me. He was dressed in a pair of dark slacks with a white dress shirt. His hair was in my preference, just messily hanging over his forehead rather than slicked back. "By the way," he broached, leaning down towards me, "happy birthday." He gave me a peck on the cheek before walking to his usual seat.

I looked curiously at Dick before going to my place across the table from him. Alfred placed our breakfast in front of me. I smiled at the plate of pancakes with a side of scrambled eggs, a sausage, and three strips of bacon. Alfred then placed down two cups of freshly squeezed orange juice in front of Dick and I while Bruce had his regular protein shake.

The three of us dug in quickly, and soon, Bruce was on his way to work while Dick and I piled into a car with Alfred in the driver's seat.

The minute Alfred set his car to park in front of the Gordon residence, the door swung open and Barbara came darting out. "Happy birthday, Verena~!" she sang, tackling me into a hug.

Dick placed a hand on the small of my back to avoid me from losing my balance. When he was sure I wouldn't fall, he placed his hand back into his pocket.

"Thanks," I smiled, returning the embrace. I stood to her shoulder, so her chin rested perfectly on top of my head. Agh. Tall people.

She pulled away and handed me a gift bag. "Here you go. It's not as fancy as those gifts you get from Bruce's business buddies but…"

"Psh," I scoffed, taking the bag from Barbara. "I'd rather have your gift than all of theirs. Thanks." I smiled. I began to open the bag, but then Barbara placed a hand over it.

"Open it when you're at home," Barbara insisted. I looked at her strangely, but nodded. I handed the bag to Alfred and the man entered the car before driving off. She looked at her watch and exclaimed, "Jeez, it's 7:30. Let's go. We've got five and a half hours before you guys have lunch with Bruce."

She took our wrists and began to drag us down the street, heading to Gotham Square. "Let's play laser tag!"

"But you hate playing that," I pointed out as she turned a corner.

"But you love it," Barbara quipped. Well, of course I did. I'm a master at shooting. "And since it's your birthday, we're playing what _you_ love."

I nodded mutely and she pulled us inside one of the large buildings. I made a move to pull out my money, but Dick slapped a hundred on the counter. He leaned over it and said, "Three people, two hours."

The girl at the counter looked at us for a second before nodding her head. She checked to see if the bill was real before giving Dick two twenties in change. Dick stuffed the money into his wallet before shoving it back in his pocket.

Once we were all prepared, we entered one of the many dark rooms this place had.

I quickly found a place to hide and waited it out slowly and patiently.

**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 18, 2010  
****11:50 EDT**

Barbara let out a heavy sigh as we were walking her home. "Jeez!" she complained. "Every time I go laser tagging with you guys, I always end up watching you two battle it on the cameras!"

I smiled at her, snaking my arms through Dick and Barbara's arms. "Sorry, Babs. I guess you're just not gifted with weapons like we are."

Barbara frowned down at me and Dick. "I'm letting you off 'cause it's your birthday today." Then she looked at Dick, and I stepped back, disentangling my arms from theirs.

The taller girl grabbed Dick in a tight grasp and Dick pretended to wince. "But I didn't say anything!" he complained loudly.

I smiled sheepishly and noticed that other people were looking our way. Oh boy. We weren't unknown people either… "Barbara… people are watching."

The blue-eyed girl paused in her rant and glanced around. She flushed slightly before letting go of her vice-grip. Dick stepped back so he was in line with me. I looked at him and he looked at me accusingly with his eyes.

'_This is all your fault,'_ he fake-glared at me.

I smiled up at him. _'It's not like it hurt you.'_

'_It's still uncomfortable,'_ Dick retorted.

"Stop it~!" Barbara whined, walking over to me and grabbing my arm, hauling me away from beside Dick. "You and I need to get into sync so we can do that cool silent talking you do with Dick."

"Babs! Give me back my best friend!"

"No, she's _my_ best friend! She's _your_ _sister_!" She stuck out her tongue at Dick and he frowned.

It didn't take us long to get to Barbara's house; only around fifteen minutes of some more walking. We said goodbye to her and she gave Dick and me a hug each before going back into her house, saying she'd be at my party this weekend.

"To Wayne Industries!" I cried, pointing my finger in a random direction.

"It's the other way," Dick commented, and I frowned. I pointed in a random direction. I _know_ where Wayne Industries is. I work there sometimes.

"I know that," I muttered. "Can't you not be a jerk to me on my birthday?"

"I'm hardly ever a jerk to you," Dick replied, walking alongside me once again. "And before you say anything, Dick deprives from the name Richard. Originally, the nickname was Rick, but then people started transforming it so it became _Dick_ or _Hick_."

"I know that too," I replied. I slipped my right hand into his left and began to swing it. "Now stop with the history lessons. I want fun."

"Race you!" Dick exclaimed before abruptly letting go of my hand.

"Cheater!" I yelled back before I ran after him. Dress be damned. I've got my black body suit, which people thought were leggings.

Dick just let out a mischievous cackle, which echoed off the buildings of Gotham. Pedestrians turned to look at us but we just passed by them without a care.

We ran for a full ten minutes, and by the time we hurtled through the automatic doors of Wayne Industries, I had a little bit of sweat on my forehead, making some strands of hair stick to it and my hair was like a bird's nest.

I kept my balance steady so I didn't crash into Dick's back. Wouldn't want that to happen, now would we?

"I win!" Dick called. His chest was moving up and down as he huffed and puffed to steady his breathing, walking around to even out his breathing.

I placed my hands on my hips and stared up at the bright lights of the building, waiting for my breathing to slow down as well. "You cheated," I panted out. I bumped him with my shoulder playfully before heading over to the receptionist.

I took that chance to use her name plaque on her desk to fix my hair while Dick came over.

"We have a lunch date with Mr. Wayne?" Dick asked coolly, not a breath out of place.

"Yes," the receptionist nodded her head. "Mr. Wayne should be in his office."

"Thanks, Emily!" I said before going over to the private elevator. The security guard stepped aside for us as Dick pulled out his wallet, taking out a key card, swiping it where a normal up/down button should be.

A few seconds later, the elevator arrived and the double doors slid open. We both stepped inside and the elevator closed after Dick pressed the button to the top floor. The round button lit up brightly, encasing the white button with a red light.

"Huh, we're a bit early," I said, checking my phone. It was only 12:15.

Dick shrugged. "Better early than late unless we were kicking butt." Then he grinned and I rolled my eyes. "And I kicked _your_ butt here."

"You cheated!" I retorted, narrowing my eyes at him.

"Did not," Dick shook his head. "You just had a slower reaction time." I frowned and when the elevator doors _ding_ed open, I stomped out, leaving Dick behind. "H-hey!"

I greeted his secretary, who was most likely new since I haven't seen her yet, and headed straight for his office. I opened the door without knocking, since the secretary had already gave the go-ahead.

Bruce looked up at his work and smiled at me, before he saw me without Dick. I plopped down on one of the seats across his desk, crossing my arms, as Dick jogged in, closing the door behind him.

"What'd you do?" Bruce asked, returning to his work without a trace of concern in his voice. I was pretty sure he knew it was just another one of mine and Dick's petty arguments.

"I just said she had a slower reaction time than me," Dick shrugged, sitting down in the seat next to mine. He let out a dramatic, heavy sigh before turning to me. "I'm sorry, V."

I turned to him, my arms still crossed. I arched a brow. _'Anything else?'_

"I'm also sorry that you're a sore loser sometimes." That's it.

I jumped out of my seat and tackled him to the ground. Dick let out a laugh and we rolled on the floor, pinning each other down over and over again.

"Don't break anything," I faintly heard Bruce remind us.

I grunted, flipping Dick over me. I locked my ankles around his shins and pushed his wrists down roughly. I panted heavily and Dick looked up at me.

I returned the gaze and got a good look at him. His dark hair was messed up from all the rolling and running we did. There were a couple light beads of sweat down the sides of his face, which was starting to become straighter due to him losing his baby fat. His electric blue eyes were bright, sparkling with happiness and mischief.

I could still feel my heart beating erratically from all of the physical activity I had done today, and I inhaled and exhaled with my mouth. The veins on his wrists were pounding with adrenaline, and I released grabbed both of his wrists with one hand while the other trailed to his face to wipe off his sweat.

I felt him relax under me and I leaned down closer, seeing a small patch of liquid just above his upper lip, on his philtrum. I got closer and closer, and my eyelids started to get slightly heavy.

My eyes snapped open when the phone began to ring shrilly, breaking me out of whatever trance Dick had me in.

I scrambled off of Dick and then walked back to Bruce's desk, taking a seat in the chair I sat in earlier. Dick pulled back the chair next to me and sat in it quietly.

Bruce arched a brow at the both of us, not missing a beat on his phone call. I looked at Dick and I smiled at him. He returned it, with his bright teeth showing. I felt my smile grow wider and he placed a hand on mine, which was resting on the arm rest.

Bruce ended the phone call and then looked at the both of us. He checked his Rolex before saying, "Well, I suppose Alfred won't mind if we have lunch earlier than the scheduled time." He pulled out his personal cell phone and called Alfred quickly.

Dick's fingertips traced random patterns on the top of my hand before I flipped my hand over and he continued the patterns on my palm. I recognized some patterns as the Bat-symbol, the S-Shield, the R on his chest, and the shape of our masks.

Bruce placed his phone back down in its holder and he then called his secretary. "Elizabeth, I'm going out for lunch. Tell anybody that calls me to call me back afterwards when I come back. I don't want any interruptions."

"_Yes, Mr. Wayne."_

Bruce hung up and then stood up from his seat. He straightened out his tie and looked at the two of us. "Shall we?" He began to walk out of his office and Dick and I sprang up from our seats before following him out.

We headed to the private elevator and went to the first floor, where Alfred was already waiting in front of the building. He opened the door for us and I slid in first, followed by Dick and Bruce.

Alfred shut the door behind Bruce before getting in the driver's seat and driving off.

Bruce loosened his tie and sat back in his seat. He smiled at me fatherly and pulled out a medium-sized box from his pocket. "Happy birthday."

"Thank you," I said before taking the box. I untied the beautiful blue silk ribbon and unwrapped it, careful not to rip the paper. I gasped when I saw what was inside, and I felt pressure behind my eyes.

"I contacted Natalie a couple weeks ago," Bruce explained quietly while Dick wrapped an arm around my shoulders. I leaned against him and sniffled lightly.

I smiled through my blurry vision, still looking at the image before me, my eyes stinging slightly from my tears.

It was on the day of my ninth birthday. Just before the attack.

I was surrounded by the members of the Blackhawks, smiling brightly at the camera while my mother was bent down, hugging me, smiling at the camera as well. Her curly blonde hair mixed with my own wavy curls. Her blue eyes sparkled brightly with life and most likely feistiness.

In the back, Olaf, who was the tallest, was holding a banner that read _Happy Ninth Birthday, Verena_, which was most likely written by my mother and Natalie. In the corner of the banner, there was the drawing of the Blackhawk symbol, probably drawn by Chop-Chop.

The banner was a baby blue color, matching the bright sky above all of us. The writing was in elegant black letters and the symbol, the head of a black hawk encased in a circle, glinted proudly against the sun.

It just shows how you never knew what could ever happen.

Judging from this picture, who would've ever thought the Blackhawk Base would be attacked a few days afterwards?

I saw a small card and smiled when I noticed it was from the remaining Blackhawks. I made a mental note to read it later, and closed the box. I looked at Bruce and wiped the small tears. "Thank you," I said again.

Bruce looked at me before his blue eyes softened. "You're welcome, Verena."

The car pulled to a stop and the passenger door was pulled open a few seconds later, filling the inside of the car with sunlight.

Bruce stepped out first and then I turned to Dick, who took his arm off of me. "How do I look?" I asked, patting my hair. Dick rolled his eyes and I smacked his shoulder lightly. "I'm serious. I just cried. What happens if reporters see and say Bruce is a child abuser or something?"

Dick grinned and then leaned over, giving me a swift peck on my cheek. I felt my cheeks flare up and backed away from him. "You look beautiful, V. You always do." He winked at me before leaving the car.

I sat in my seat, stunned. I felt my slightly-cold hand touch my burning skin. Was my hand cold or my face too hot? Oh jeez. It was getting uncomfortable in here. I need air. There were tingles against my skin too.

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, calming my rapidly beating heart. I took another deep breath and then left the car.

Alfred closed the door behind me and I saw Bruce smirking down at Dick. The younger male had his hands stuffed in his pockets and his face was facing the opposite direction of our adoptive father defiantly. What was going on?

Bruce was the first to notice me, besides Alfred, and smiled at me. He gestured for me to come over and I did so. I heard a few cameras click as I did so and used my eyes to look around. I wasn't surprised to see some paparazzi a couple feet from us, snapping away.

The three of us entered the restaurant while Alfred went to go park the car.

The hostess immediately stood up straight, clearing her throat and patting out her hair when she saw us. Bruce smiled at her and said, "Wayne, party of four."

"Yes, of course, Mr. Wayne!" the hostess greeted in a high-pitched, chirpy tone. She immediately grabbed four menus and then led us over to a private booth.

Dick and I sat next to each other like we always did, with Bruce sitting across from me.

She gave us our menus, and it didn't escape my eye that there was a piece of paper under Bruce's menu. I rolled my eyes. Some people had no shame.

Alfred then joined us and the waitress came over, taking out orders while flirting with Bruce. I sighed and leaned back in my seat slightly. This was going to take a while.

**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 18, 2010  
****23:42 EDT**

I leaned against Dick as we watched an action-thriller he had picked after my romantic comedy. I felt a rush of cold air hit the top of my shoulders and cuddled up closer to him, pulling the blankets over us more. My legs were encased by his own lean, toned ones, keeping my bare limbs warm.

Dick squeezed my shoulder, pulling my closer to him, and I gladly welcomed more warmth.

After lunch with Bruce, Alfred took Bruce back to work while Dick and I spent the rest of the day hanging out at the mall and arcade.

Then he took me to dinner and we had hung around the park before asking Alfred to take us home.

After that, we decided to have a movie marathon in my room, after we changed into pajamas and opened my presents. I had opened my gifts from Alfred and Barbara personally, leaving Alfred to sort out the gifts I had received from Bruce's associates.

From Alfred, I got a lovely cookbook about all different kinds of sweets and confectionaries.

From Barbara. Oh God, it was beautiful, but I felt flames rise to my cheeks when I saw it. She had recently taken up designing some things, and she had gotten purchased a simple wooden frame, but decorated it meticulously by hand. I saw that it was a picture of Dick and me, at the park, playing with a couple of stray birds. A flitter of a smile appeared on my face as I thought about it and I snuggled deeper into Dick. At the bottom of the frame, written elegantly, read _Lovebirds_.

Dick had tried to see what it was, but I quickly placed it back in its bag and I placed it on my nightstand without a word. He arched a brow at me, but shrugged before popping in a movie.

This was the third movie we were watching, and I could slowly feel myself get sleepier.

My muscles relaxed as I watched the movie through semi-closed eyelids. I didn't know why there was a car chase going on, but just continued to watch anyway.

I blinked a couple of times, to avoid falling asleep, but the rhythmic beating of Dick's heart as his chest rose up and down slowly relaxed me and the warm blankets were incredibly comfortable.

I blinked a few more times, before I succumbed to the darkness.

**DICK GRAYSON**

Verena's breathing was getting more and more relaxed as time went on. She cuddled some more, seeking some warmth and I helped her. She rested her head on my arm and I continued to watch the movie.

Slowly, but surely, I felt her muscles relax and then she shifted ever the slightest. I looked down and saw that she was asleep; her lips parted slightly open as she took breath after breath.

Her small hands stuck out of the blankets on my chest, and I saw the light of the television twinkle my gift to her. A flitter of a smile appeared on my face and I barely even registered the sounds of gunshots from the movie.

I had seen it while I was out with Wally in Central City. It was a bracelet, with two charms dangling from it. The silver charms were of two birds flying, and I immediately thought of our aliases.

Ever since she appeared in my life, I found myself thinking about her whenever I made plans. Whether it was going to the movies with friends, going out on a patrol, or just plain bored, I found myself seeking Verena's presence. I couldn't imagine a life without her anymore.

In three days, it'd mark the third year of our first meeting.

I silently reached for the remote, before turning off the DVD player and television, encasing the room in darkness, with only the moon shining through the crack of the curtains. My eyes slowly got adjusted to the blackness.

I looked down at Verena one more time. She shifted again slightly. I smiled as her brows furrowed before relaxing.

I already knew what Barbara had given Verena. I had found it when I was over at the redhead's place a couple days ago to talk to her about our plans for Verena's birthday.

I angled my neck awkwardly and I placed my lips over hers. I pulled away slowly to not disturb her. I could feel my neck getting slightly warm.

"Good night, V. And happy birthday," I said before turning on my side so I could hug her close to me. She let out a happy sigh and buried her face in my chest.

"Dick…" I heard her softly say.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her close before closing my eyes, a smile on my face.

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon****:**_

"You're such a jerk."

"Fal, look out!"

"Don't scare me like that again."

"_Fal? Can you hear me?"_

* * *

**A/N:** Just in case you guys didn't see it in the beginning, I **might** (keyword: might) won't be publishing a chapter of _**Black**_** _Falcon_** for the month. Well, if I do get ten reviews for this chapter, then I just **can't resist** posting up a new chapter. LOL. This was scheduled to be posted like, next week or something. xD SEE WHAT YOU GUYS DO TO ME? Anyways, remember to review! :) I love you guys!


	11. Home Away From Home

**A/N:** Yeah! FINALS ARE OVER, GUYS. AND GUESS WHAT? I'M PASSIN' CALCULUS. OH YEAH. It was so hard to focus on studying so I literally just BS'ed everything. Thank goodness that I'm somewhat-smart. ._. But who can concentrate on SCHOOL when a certain story of theirs got _**15 reviews in less than 24**_** _hours_**?! That's right guys. You guys are AWESOME. Thanks to all of the following people:

**TohruOrihime:** Oh I believed I did. xD  
**LovelyThorn:** AWWWW. HOW CUTE. I was squealing too, and I wrote it. LOL. It's okay. My dad questions my sanity. I did pretty well, thanks. :)  
**jellymonstar1:** I LOVE FLUFF TOO. :D  
**goddess of the night:** Thank you! :D  
**sailormajinmoon:** Great review as usual! Thanks for your comments! Enjoy~!  
**dreamer:** Awww~ thank you! :D  
**Stronger123:** Here's the update you wanted! Sorry for the long wait! Btw, I think your icon's adorable. I'm born in the year of the pig. :)  
**Skyla123:** Here you go!  
**Ninjawannabe:** LOL. Thank you, and that's **_awesome_**!  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** Thank you, thank you, thank you! :D –hugs-  
**Mjmjmjmj:** LOL. Thank you! And I didn't flunk. WHOOT. I'M GOIN' TO COLLEGE. XD  
**Kelly1432:** AREN'T THEY?! –spazz- Sorry, it was two weeks. :c But I do try to update **_The Robin and The Falcon_** frequently. Read that? :)  
**Guest:** THANKKKKK YOUUUUUU. Here you go! Drama/battle? Maybe. Read and find out. ;)  
**That dorky blonde:** Awww. Aren't you a sweetie? :) It wasn't a month (thankfully), but it WAS a long two weeks, wasn't it? :/  
**Redmissy100:** Here's the update! :D I love Lovebirds too. LOL. I love you too for always reviewing. ;) It's fine. I thank you for actually taking the time to review. :)  
**Blonde ninja:** I AIN'T LEAVIN' YA HANGING, BUDDY. GRAB MY HAND. –extends it-  
**ForgeandGred4Ever:** Thank you!  
**Hitokage Higure:** Here's the continuation. :D  
**Guest #2:** Thank you! Here's more!  
**SpiritTrainer:**Thanks~!

One more note before we begin: If you don't read _**The Robin and The**_** Falcon**, then you don't know that I've recently created a website for this series. :) You can find the link on my profile. Now enjoy~!

* * *

**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 22, 2010  
****0****7****:****2****0 EDT**

Barbara was talking about her trip to Vlatavastok with her family when something caught my eye. I nudged Dick and bobbed my head in the direction.

A smirk grew on Dick's face before he let out a laugh. He turned to Barbara and said, "'Scuse us for a sec, Barbara."

We skirted off to where Artemis was talking to Bette, the Student Liaison that we had assigned Artemis to. Dick pulled out his fancy smartphone, courtesy of Bruce, and we got on both sides of Artemis. Dick placed his arm around Artemis's shoulder and said, "We'll laugh about this someday," before he took the picture.

She winced at the flash, but Dick and I were already on our way back to Barbara.

"Uh, who were they?" I heard Artemis ask with my keen hearing.

"Dick Grayson and Verena Blake, the Student Body Presidents here at Gotham Academy," I heard Bette reply. "They're in the same grade as us."

"Dick, Verena?" Barbara called as we approached her from behind. "What was that about?"

"Nothing, Babs," I replied, approaching her. "We're just bein' friendly to the new girl."

She rolled her eyes and began to walk away. Dick and I exchanged looks and then we looked at the picture. Dick and I were smiling at the camera while Artemis just looked confused.

We followed after Barbara, heading to our lockers inside the school. Because of our connections, the three of us had lockers next to each other. I spun my combination, and the locker in-between Barbara and Dick's popped open. I grabbed my AP Chemistry book before closing it.

"You two are lucky Bruce assigns it so the two of you have the same classes," Barbara commented, pulling out her Algebra II/Trig book. "And in the same grade." Barbara was a freshman while Dick and I were sophomores, because we were awesome and smart like that.

Dick and I exchanged looks before shrugging. It was just convenient. We bade Barbara a bye before she walked away to the Math Wing.

"I'll hold it," Dick said, taking the book out of my hands. He held onto both his book and mine, holding them easily at his side.

"Thanks," I gave him a smile.

"No prob," Dick replied.

**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 22, 2010  
****19:28 EDT**

Robin and I landed on the rooftop silently, and I nudged him. He quirked an eyebrow at me before looking at where I gestured. A wicked grin spread across his face. Artemis was there.

"Artemis?" he asked mischievously, landing on the ground next to the broken phone booth with me.

She gasped in shock, eyes darting back and forth between us. "Robin! Black Falcon! I… uh…"

I resisted the urge to crack up while Robin approached the older girl. "How _random_ that you're in Gotham City! Instead of Star City, where you _uncle, Green Arrow_, lives."

"I'm… uh, here to see my _cousin_. She… was in the State Spelling Bee. Here, in Gotham," she obviously lied. While Dick was a mathematician and competed in math competitions regularly, I participated in English competitions. The State Spelling Bee wasn't until May.

Robin's grin got wider and he looked at me, making me roll my eyes. "_C-O-O-L_. Did she _W-I-N_?"

Artemis's eyes narrowed. "_N-O_."

I piped in at that time. "What a _P-I-T-Y_."

Artemis glared at me and then pointed at the broken phone booth. "Yeah, whatever! Let's just go to the Cave."

"Ladies first," Robin said, bowing and gesturing to the old, broken phone booth. I'm pretty sure it's rusty in some places too.

Artemis placed her hands on her hips. "Your town, you guys go." Robin shrugged and the two of us entered the phone booth.

"_Recognized: Robin: B-Zero-One. Black Falcon: B-Zero-Two."_

"You're such a jerk," I laughed, pushing Robin playfully once we arrived to the Cave. Robin laughed and then we suddenly ducked down as a fireball came hurling straight toward us. I quickly detached my guns and shot where the source of the fireballs were coming from.

"_Recognized: Artemis: B-Zero-Eight."_

"Get down!" I hollered to Artemis through yet another explosion. Robin grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from a fireball that was hurling towards us.

We ran to Artemis, who had her bow and arrow ready. There was smoke everywhere, but I kept my focus on what was undoubtedly behind the smog. Robin through multiple birdarangs, and then a blast of fire shot out.

I rolled out of the way easily, just as my vision adjusted to the debris. I could see two figures approaching the three of us and I aimed towards there. My nose twitched as the hot, stinging smell of ashes flowed into my nostrils, burning the inside.

"Who are we fighting?!" Artemis demanded.

"Dunno," Robin sighed, landing next to me. "But we're sitting ducks by these tubes! Head for the exit!"

I broke out into a run, shooting at the shadows over and over again, trying to get some reaction. A blast of fire was heading straight towards me, so I hand to jump in the air, doing multiple flips before landing beside Robin, running alongside him.

A rush of water made me stop in my tracks. "Or not," I bluntly stated, referring to Robin's earlier comment. The three of us whirled to try to run away, but it was too much.

I grunted in pain as the water roughly hit me, pushing me forward. I let out a groan of pain as I hit the wall, choking on some water. I coughed slightly before pushing myself off and running, dodging a fireball. Seriously, where was all this coming from?

We headed towards the gym, and my hair almost got singed by a fire tornado. A _fire tornado_. "Robin to Team!" Robin cried, pressing on his com-link. "Aqualad, can you hear me?!"

I pressed on my com-link. "Superboy?! Kid Flash?! Come in!" I felt the pressure of an explosion behind me as the doors to the gym were destroyed. I lost my balance and fell, but quickly pushed myself up, following Artemis and Robin out of the room.

"Robin, the Batcave!" I called.

Robin nodded and we activated the showers, trying to protect ourselves from the fire. "Robin to Batcave! Override R-G-Four! Cave calling Justice League! H-O-J-slash-Watchtower! B-Zero-One! Priority red!"

"Comm's down?" I muttered, twisting the last faucets. Robin looked at me solemnly and nodded.

"At least the water's helping," Robin muttered.

There was a loud creak and I dodged a hurling faucet, making it hit the wall, cracking it. "You spoke too soon," I groaned. "You just had to go and jinx it, Rob." The tiles began to break and water rapidly filled the room.

I held my breath and watched as Robin placed an exploding birdarang onto the wall. It exploded and I coughed, landing on the ground on my back roughly. After clearing my lungs, I got up and made a dash for the kitchen, with Robin and Artemis on my heels.

"We need to get lost somehow," Robin panted as my eyes darted back and forth around the kitchen.

I spotted the fan that filtered the excess smoke in this place and pointed. "Anyone up for some crawling?" Robin turned to the security system on the door as Artemis and I went to pull off the entrance of the vent.

We pulled it off with ease and Artemis turned back. "What is he–?" she began.

"Downloading the Cave's blueprints," I cut her off.

"It could come in…" he trailed off and I focused on my hearing. There were some light thumping of footsteps. Robin disconnected the cable and he, Artemis, and I jumped up the ventilation shaft.

The three of us crawled through the slightly dark tunnels, with the only light coming from the ends, where the rooms were brightly lit. "Go left!" Robin ordered and I followed Artemis, who had turned left. Just in time too, because as soon as we all did, fire shot out just where Robin was a nanosecond ago.

Robin let out a huffy sigh. "Ugh," he groaned. "Too close." We continued crawling in silence until Robin spoke up again. "Take the first right. There should be a vent cover right in front of you."

Artemis pulled it open and the three of us slid down and into the temperature control room. Robin turned on his blue prints again and then he looked at me. "This way," he said, and dashed off down the stairs. We both followed him but then an explosion caught my attention.

I whirled around and saw a figure, a female figure, surrounded by fire. Something told me by those red eyes she wasn't human… or at least, a normal one. I jumped off the railing, with Robin and Artemis doing the same.

I glanced at the temperature monitor, seeing the levels getting higher and higher. "Oh man, I don't think that's good," I pointed out before running off. To alleviate the heat, cold steam started bursting out, but it wasn't working. I felt a trickle of sweat down the side of my face and wiped it away as I ran.

Artemis found the access tunnel and Robin and I jumped down it just before his birdarang exploded. "Hold on," Robin called for our attention before we moved on.

He opened up the USB ports that were located down here and activated his computer. "Locking out Cave heat and motion sensors to keep the enemy from tracking us."

"And I ask again, _who_ is the enemy?" Artemis asked.

"Let's find out then," I said, pulling out my own USB cable. I plugged it in and tapped into the security cameras while Robin continued locking out the sensors.

I downloaded the video, and saw the other four were in the hangar, fixing up Superboy's bike. Well, Kid Flash was. Kid Flash stood up just as Aqualad mentioned Artemis, but he was cut off by an explosion. I had nothing but static now.

"What happened?" Artemis asked, looking at me worriedly.

I narrowed my eyes. "The explosion took out the camera. I'll find another angle," I replied before typing on my holographic keyboard. I found them quickly and saw that they were all soaked, and now attacking, but the cameras were all knocked out before they died.

"That's it," Robin muttered, and I nodded. "All four are dead." Artemis looked at us, shocked, and Robin corrected himself. "The cameras! I meant the cameras!"

"I'm sure the others are okay," I said, placing a hand on Artemis's shoulder. I looked at Robin, "We should find the quickest route to the hangar." Robin nodded and pulled up his blueprints.

Artemis slumped back. "Yeah, they're fine. They've all got superpowers. They can handle anything," she said, but it was more like she was convincing herself.

"Here," Robin pointed on his blueprints. "Cut through here and enter the library via secret entrance."

We quickly moved our way through the vents, finding the library. I needed to find time to drop by in here. There were books upon books, just like a real library. Wait, focus Fal.

"There's a secret passage behind one of these bookshelves," Robin commented as we jumped off the stairs to work faster.

"Seriously?" Artemis scoffed. "Cliché much?"

I snorted. "You should see the Batcave." I scanned through the aisles of books, looking for one that I knew Batman would use. The least predictable one.

A noise caught my attention and I pulled out a gun, keeping it low but ready. I cocked my gun to the fourth level and hid behind a bookshelf.

"Artemis, Robin, Black Falcon," Red Tornado called.

"It's Red Tornado!" Artemis exclaimed happily, jumping out of the shelves before I could stop her. Robin and I tackled her down before she was attacked.

"Yes on the Red!" Robin yelled.

"No on the Tornado!" I called, rolling under the table. At times like these, I was glad I was short.

Fire struck us, and that led to the sprinklers being activated. I landed between the aisles and _bingo_! I pulled out Ann Radcliffe's _The Mysteries of Udolpho_, and a secret entrance appeared. We all jumped in before the bookshelves crushed us.

"Did you two know Tornado had _siblings_?!" Artemis exclaimed, obvious distress in her voice.

Robin and I exchanged looks since we were running next to each other. "No," we replied at the same time.

Robin and I made to turn around the corner, but Artemis grabbed our hands to stop us. The two of us turned to Artemis, and I quirked an eyebrow.

"So now what?!" she demanded. "Red Tornado is one of the League's _powerhouses_! How are we supposed to take down _two_ of him?!"

"Well, they do seem pretty user-unfriendly," Robin commented, making me crack a grin.

"Don't _joke_!" Artemis snapped. She looked like she wanted to say more, but she was cut off by Red Tornado's voice.

"_Attention Robin. Attention Black Falcon. Attention Artemis. You have exactly ten minutes to surrender or the lives of your teammates will be extinguished."_ A moment of silence passed as I looked at my teammates. _"Nine minutes and forty-five seconds."_

We all dashed off towards the hangar. My legs felt like they weighed a ton and my clothes were sopping wet, adding some extra weight. Despite my fatigue, I pushed myself. It's up to us to save the others.

"_Eight minutes."_

"We can access the hangar from here," Robin commented, but then I stopped, almost making Robin run into me. I turned around and saw a rush of water heading towards us.

"Or not," I commented and dashed off ahead of them.

"Will you two _please_ stop saying jinxes?!" Artemis cried as she ran behind me. We were pushed by the water, and I clenched my eyes together as water consumed me. I pulled out my rebreather and attached it on, seeing as this water wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

I almost got hit by Robin's cape, which he had unhooked, as I tried swimming back to them. I put shot the Red, and he retaliated by blasting me with a water bullet. I flinched as it hit me and knocked out my rebreather.

I saw a line shoot past me, and then Robin grabbed my hand as the line pulled him towards the wall. The three of us swam up to the surface, and I took in a deep gulp of air.

"Fal, look out!" I faintly heard Kid Flash call before Robin pulled me away. A fireball landed where I previously was.

When I was able to refocus, I let go of Robin's hand and we swam over to where Kid Flash and Superboy were. I panted as I kept myself afloat. "You guys okay?"

"Forget us!" Superboy exclaimed. "Help M'gann!" If our lives weren't in danger right now, I'd quirk an eyebrow or make a comment or something.

I looked at Kid Flash and touched whatever was bounding them as Artemis asked for Miss Martian's condition. It was melted metal. Wow, this must be pretty strong if it was keeping Superboy at bay.

"Heads up," Robin said before the three of us dived underwater.

We swam towards safety; well, as safe as you could get with two killer androids on the loose in your second home. I gasped, pushing myself out of the water and Robin pulled me up. After helping me up, he followed Artemis up the stairs, and I ran after him.

Did the muscles on Robin's shoulders get more defined? Wait. Snap out of it, V. You're on a mission here. Check out Robin/Dick later. I paused in my running.

What the heck was that?

I focused again just as the androids cornered us, and I detached my gun from its holster. Artemis glanced at me. "I'm almost out of arrows," she told me. I looked and saw that she only had two left. Well, crap.

"Distract her, we'll handle the other one," I told Artemis before rushing towards the male android. I pulled out my other gun and set it to level eight, and shot at him multiple times, but they gave no effect, just like Robin's birdarangs.

"_Whoa!"_ I heard Kid Flash gasp and darted quickly to see a birdarang just a few inches from his face. The android began to summon water, and Robin and I looked at each other.

We nodded. It was our cue to go. I turned to the edge and without hesitation, dived down. We headed deep under the Cave, and Robin spotted a shaft. He pulled open the cover of the entrance and Artemis and I swam inside it.

I gasped for breath as I emerged from the water and hoisted myself out and into the small tunnel.

"_Six minutes."_

"What do we do now?!" Artemis exclaimed.

"We save them," Robin told her.

"That's how it works," I added, nodding in agreement. I let out a heavy cough, and rubbed my chest. I'm not swimming for a while after this.

Artemis glared at us. "Maybe that's how it's supposed to work, but those robots already took out our four _superpowered_ friends!"

"You seem distraught," Robin pointed out the obvious.

This made the blonde snap. "_**Distraught**_?! M'gann is _**dying**_! We have _**no powers**_ and I'm down to my _**last arrow**_!" She pulled out her weapon for emphasis. "_**Of course I'm distraught**_!"

Robin glared back at her. "Well _get traught_ or _get dead_!" I placed a hand on his shoulder and he turned to me. He glared at me at first, but I didn't flinch. His eyes then softened and his facial features relaxed as I kept my gaze on him, never once waving.

He turned around and began crawling, and I followed.

"How can you two be so calm?" Artemis inquired from behind me.

"Practice," Robin replied. "I've been doing this since I was nine."

"And you?" Artemis asked, and since Robin already answered, I knew she was asking me.

I pursed my lips. "Since I was nine too. I'm only around a year and a half less experienced than Robin." There must be _something_ that could take out those dang machines. I stopped crawling, making Artemis almost bump into me.

I face palmed myself, making a loud slapping sound as my palm made contact with my face. Robin whirled around at the sound and looked at me. He raised a brow at me.

I looked at him. _'They're machines!' _Realization donned onto his face and he did the same as I did a few seconds ago.

"Can you explain to me _why_ you guys are _hitting yourselves_?" Artemis demanded, huffing angrily.

"Duh!" the two of us exclaimed at the same time. "They're _machines_!"

"And with one electromagnetic pulse," Robin said eagerly.

"Will shut down any _machine_ within range," I finished.

Artemis smiled for the first time today. "Great!" Then her face fell. "Except one of you two better have an EMP emitter in your utility belts! Because I know I don't have one in my quiver."

"Well crap, I used my last one on a mission last week to black out that building," I muttered, looking at Robin. "And you used yours yesterday."

"I bet we can make one," Robin mused. He pressed on his com-link. "What do you say, KF? Do-able?"

"_Totally do-able!"_ I heard through my com-link. I thought it was strange that Robin's birdarang almost hit Kid Flash by accident. He probably calculated the angle as he was throwing those birdarangs at that android to keep in contact with the others.

"_Five minutes."_

"_Y'know… if… you had more time…"_ I heard Kid Flash's voice drop.

I pressed on my com-link. "You're not the only science genius in this place," I commented. "With the two of our brains working together, we'll have it done in a minute. What do you say?"

"_With you, babe? Anything."_

I looked at Robin, ignoring Kid Flash's advance. "We've gotta head to the Med Bay. They have an x-ray machine." Robin nodded and opened the blueprints, and we continued crawling.

Robin kicked open a dead-end soon, and I found myself in the Med Bay with the two. _"You guys using the vircator?"_ Kid Flash asked.

"Yup," I replied. "Then converting the microwave conversion from x-rays to EMPs."

"_Remember the cascade energy's gotta be directed outwards,"_ Kid Flash added as Robin took out the vircator.

"A ripple effect," Robin commented, understanding our plan. "It's like dropping a stone in a pond."

"_A stone with ten to the third power wattage, yeah,"_ Kid Flash agreed.

I pursed my lips. "You'll need to hook it up with the Cave's main generator though…"

"Which is… where?" Artemis looked at me curiously.

I sighed. "The hangar." Artemis's face dropped and we were back in the vents.

We found ourselves back in the hangar, and I pressed on my com-link. "Kid, Superboy, distraction."

As the two were distracting the two androids, Artemis, Robin, and I continued to sneak by to the generator. The two males jeered at the robots, bragging about their superpowers. Kid Flash vibrate his molecules? Hah.

"I can vibrate my molecules and escape out of here before your binary brains can count to two!" Kid Flash bragged, and I covered my mouth to keep from laughing. Robin smirked while Artemis looked confused.

"Cover us," Robin whispered before he hooked a line. We swung ourselves down to the generator and Robin placed the vircator inside. I connected my computer to it and began to reroute the system.

I narrowed my eyes. "It's not working," I said to him.

Robin glanced at the object. "The circuit's incomplete. You need something conductable."

I pulled out my gun, pushing in a bullet, until I heard Artemis yell, _"Robin, Black Falcon, look out!"_

Robin grabbed me and we grunted as the tidal wave washed over us. I began to run out of oxygen, and everything went black.

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****SEPTEMBER 22, 2010  
****20:01 EDT**

I felt water rush upwards. My eyes widened and I rolled before water came spilling out of my mouth. My eyes watered painfully as I coughed uncontrollably, the water burning my nose and my lungs felt heavy.

"Oh thank God," Robin heaved out before pulling me up towards him. The two of us were completely soaked, and I felt pretty cold, but ignored it. I've been through worse. "You weren't breathing," he said quietly. "Don't scare me like that again." I welcomed his arms, which were hugging me a bit tightly, but it was fine.

I still coughed, but managed to choke out, "No promises, but I'll try."

Robin helped me up and supported me while Aqualad supported Miss Martian. Artemis quickly found a drill and we headed down to where Superboy and Kid Flash were still trapped.

"Feel alright, sweets?" Kid Flash asked, flashing a grin at me. I returned it with a weak one of my own. I notice the small exchange between Superboy and Miss Martian, but chose not to say anything.

Kid Flash then turned his attention to Artemis. "Will you quit playing with that thing and cut us free already?!" he snapped.

"It's not working, _genius_," Artemis snapped back. "EMP shuts down _all_ machines, remember?"

"All machines present at the time," Red Tornado's voice came. I lifted my head up to see the _good_ red android approaching us. "What has occurred?"

Robin filled the League member in, adjusting his stance to make me more comfortable. Artemis added to it and after Superboy asked where Red Tornado was, the android walked towards the two fallen robots.

Sphere and the drill-laser came back online then, and my eyes widened. "The pulse has worn off!" Kid Flash, Robin, and I exclaimed at the same time, and then that set me off to a coughing fit, since I cut off my even breathing.

Red Tornado suddenly turned around, and I suddenly couldn't breathe. And all went black again.

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****SEPTEMBER 22, 2010  
****20:51 EDT**

"_Fal?"_ I heard multiple voices call. _"Fal? Can you hear me?"_ I groaned in pain, even with my eyes closed, my brain pounded and I couldn't focus.

"Make it stop spinning…" I groaned. I slowly opened my eyes, wincing at the light. I saw the concerned face of Robin and the stern face of Batman looking down at me. I groaned again, curling up into a fetal position.

"She nearly drowned earlier too," Robin told Batman. "I had to give her CPR because she wasn't breathing. Add in asphyxiation and she's down for the count."

I felt myself being lifted up from the ground and groaned, burying myself into the black, hard yet soft chest. "I don't feel good, Daddy," I muttered quietly. The light cologne and fresh laundry smell that was Batman soothed me, but my head still pounded and it was difficult for me to breathe.

I felt a hand stroking my head and knew it was Robin's. I could make out the feel of his wet glove through my thick, wet hair.

"She'll be alright," Batman spoke, his chest rumbling as he did. The vibrations were lulling me. "Just exhausted. Sleep."

I didn't need to be told twice. I closed my eyelids, and let myself drift off.

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

"C'mon, Fal."

"Fal!"

"You fell for me again."

"_I couldn'__t be mad at you."_

"Robin!"

'_I bet you can guess what I'm thinking.'_

* * *

**A/N:** Now before any of you start correcting me, I **know** that Dick is a freshman in the series, but I purposely made him and V sophomores **on purpose**. There is a reason for my madness. Anyways, check out the website for this series if you haven't. It's not much yet (since it IS a lot of work to maintain it), but do look around. Dick's, V's, Roy's, and Bruce's pages are done. As well as this story's. :) Link is on my profile. And remember guys, _**review**_~!


	12. Rift

**A/N:** Gosh, I love you guys so much. Your comments always make me happy. :)

**LovelyThorn:** V's not the only one who thinks about his shoulders. ;)  
**jellymonstar1:** Awww, thank you so much! :D  
**Stronger123:** Well, here's more for you!  
**ywons54:** Chill, chill. You'll find out. ;)  
**ForgeandGred4Ever:** Thank you!  
**sailormajinmoon:** Well, I made them sophomores for something involving the future to fit the timeline. :)  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** Thank you. But right now, I have a 36% in Calculus. GODDAMMIT. :|  
**Kelly1432:** Awww thanks so much. :)  
**Annabella333:** Thank you!  
**dreamer:** THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!  
**Mjmjmjmj:** Thank you. I adored it as well. D'awww. Daddy-Brucey.  
**Hyper-Blossom Z:** HERE YOU GO.  
**Guest:** OH NOES. PLEASE DON'T CRY. HERE'S THE NEXT CHAPTER.

* * *

**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 23, 2010  
****06:07 EDT**

"Are you sure you're alright for today?" Batman asked, looking at me. "You can take today off if you're still feeling off."

I shook my head. "I feel fine," I smiled. "Alfred's remedies do wonders."

Batman looked at me for a moment before nodding. "Alright then. But you're to be careful today." He narrowed his eyes. "_Extra_ careful."

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to her," Robin said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

Batman nodded and then headed towards the Zeta-Beam, and then Robin and I followed.

"_Recognized: Batman: Zero-One. Robin: B-Zero-One. Black Falcon: B-Zero-Two."_

I squinted as the night-vision of my mask turned on, adjusting to the semi-darkness of the Cave. Batman walked off without a word, heading towards Kaldur.

"Hey," I greeted, taking a seat in-between Artemis and Wally.

"Hey," Artemis echoed back while Wally nodded in acknowledgement. The speedster let out a sigh and leaned on the table before the lights turned back on.

Green Arrow placed a bowl of pretzels on the table in front of Wally, and the speeder scrunched his face. "Thanks, but _no thanks_." Jeez, Wally must be pretty down to deny food.

Robin looked at me before nodding his head. "What we want are answers," he said, turning to the adult archer.

"About Red Tornado and his siblings," I clarified, even though he probably already knew.

Wally sat straight up and looked challengingly at him. "Exactly!" Green Arrow reached to take the bowl away, but Wally protested. "Leave the bowl," he said, taking it back. I rolled my eyes.

"We're working on it," Black Canary assured us. "Batman has been placing it as his highest priority."

I opened my mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Conner's enraged cry, "_You knew_?!" He almost flew over to the Atlantean, roughly grabbing him by the collar. "That android and his family nearly _killed_ M'gann!"

"Whoa, whoa!" I exclaimed, pushing myself off the bench. "What's going on?" I demanded, walking over to them.

"Kaldur knew we had a traitor among us and said _nothing_!" Conner roared.

"You _knew_?" Robin asked incredulously.

"And didn't tell _us_?" Wally demanded, knowing his was talking about our little group.

"I sought to protect the Team from–" Kaldur responded from under Conner's grip.

"Protect us from what?" Artemis demanded, angry as well. "Knowledge that might've saved _our lives_?"

I pushed back the anger I had, keeping quiet. I wedged myself between to two larger males and placed my hands on Conner's chest, pushing him slightly. "Calm down, Conner."

"Enough," Batman's cool, calm voice broke us out of our little argument. I gave Conner a little push some more and he let go of Kaldur after seeing Batman's narrowed eyes.

I pursed my lips and walked closer to Batman, stopping next to Robin. "With Red Tornado…" Batman started, searching for the right verb, "missing, the Team will now be overseen by rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift."

The large, intimidating man stepped up and if I wasn't Batman's protégé, I would've gaped at how big the guy was. I notice Conner whisper something, or more like threaten, to Kaldur about something, and Batman interrupted him.

"Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League. That makes him a _League_ responsibility. You _will_ leave it to us." Batman looked at us as well, stopping on Robin and me last. He narrowed his eyes in a way that said, _"You two are _not_ to hack my systems."_ Robin and I nodded our heads.

He gestured to the air just as multiple screens appeared. "I have another assignment for this team."

I blinked. The headlines were about gorillas with weapons. _What_? Is this a joke?

"_Gotham Mayor Attacked by Guerilla Gorilla_?" Wally read the headlines, incredulous.

"Batman, _please_!" Robin cried, stepping up. "Tell me you're not sending us on this _joke_ of a wild ape chase!"

"I _never_ joke about the mission," Batman retaliated. Robin took a step back, falling back next to me. "I've checked the sources. I've traced the patterns. Mayor Hill is only the _latest_ in a series of incidents. Aqualad, you and your team will depart for India and check things out."

Without another word, I followed the others out. Kid Flash stopped in front of Aqualad and scoffed, "Che. _Your_ team."

"Let's go," I muttered, tugging on the boy's wrist.

"Black Falcon," Batman called to me, making me stop. I turned to look at him and heard the rest of the Team stop as well. "Your jet has been transferred to the hangar. Take that. It'll be faster."

Despite my upset feelings towards Aqualad, a smile crept its way onto my face. _Finally_ I was allowed to fly my own jet again!

I walked to the top level of the hangar, hiding my excitement. Robin chuckled and I whirled to glare at him. He grinned and I turned back to my main focus.

My large, slick, black jet was perched next to the Bio-Ship, and I quirked an eyebrow. It looked a bit different. I activated it with the center of my utility belt and it purred to life. The door opened quietly and I entered it.

Nothing looked different inside, except maybe the new seats. There were a total of ten passenger seats lined up in two rows. Each seat was able to hold two people. I looked to my left, to the back of the jet, and saw the door that led to the "bedroom", in case I ever had to have an overnight mission somewhere.

I then turned to the right, and looked all the way at the front. The pilot and co-pilot seats were facing the large control panel of the jet.

I walked over to the pilot seat and sat down on it. I looked at the speedometer and blinked. It can go faster now. I felt Robin casually sit down on the co-pilot's seat. From the look on his face, he noticed the slight changes as well.

Everyone took their seats, including Captain Marvel, and I started the engines quietly.

**NORTHERN INDIA  
****SEPTEMBER 23, 2010  
****21:36 IST**

"Almost there," I announced. "I'm detaching the lines for Artemis and Robin to go off first to scout the perimeter. That alright?" I asked, keeping my focus on ahead.

"Yeah, that'll be fine," I heard Kid Flash reply. Robin and Artemis unbuckled themselves and as I lowered, I opened the bottom hatch for them to jump out of.

Once I landed the jet, I opened the main compartment and hopped out just as Robin and Artemis came back.

"All clear," Robin reported.

Aqualad activated his stealth mode and looked at all of us. "Switch to stealth," Aqualad told us as we formed a semi-circle around him. "And we'll review mission parameters."

"Parameters?" Kid Flash began defiantly, activating his stealth-tech. "We don't need no stinkin' parameters."

"It's recon, we know what to do," Robin added.

"Kid, Robin!" Aqualad began to protest.

"The four of us started this team because the Justice League was keeping secrets from _us_!"

Kid Flash slipped on his goggles as he added, "_Or_ did you forget about that like you forgot to tell us about the mole?"

Robin took a glance at me and said, "C'mon, Fal." I took a look at Aqualad and the others before dashing off after my two oldest friends.

"You guys didn't have to be so harsh," I said, running beside them, jumping over a bush that blocked my way.

"Well he didn't have to keep that secret from us," Kid Flash retorted. We slowed down to a stop and then began walking through the dense forest.

I heard a loud screeching and paused.

"What was that?" Kid Flash asked, looking around.

"White-rumped Vultures," I replied easily.

Kid Flash looked at me, arching a brow. "You can recognize bird calls?"

"Batman," I said, and the name explained it all.

Kid Flash nodded. "Right."

We arrived at a cliff and began to scout the area, when another screech came. This time, it was a lot closer. I turned and saw three vultures heading toward us.

"Okay, they're big, but not _that big_!" I exclaimed just before one grabbed me with its talons, taking off with me.

"Fal!" Kid Flash and Robin exclaimed.

"I thought vultures only ate dead meat!" Robin added as two circled around to go after them.

I grabbed onto the vulture that held me tightly and the vulture did spin and circled around. I closed my eyes as the harsh wind hit my face. It was hard to see through all of this. I winced as the claws dug deeper into my shoulders.

Wally then came spiraling towards me and hit the vulture, causing the vulture to let go of me. I began falling out of the air at an incredible speed, and I was going to hit the ground before I could get out my grappling gun. Instead, I braced myself for the hit.

I hit multiple branches, not having enough time to see or react to them. I landed with an _oomph_ in something warm though. I opened my eyes and looked into the mask.

Robin grinned. "You fell for me again."

I felt my face heat up and Robin placed me gently on the ground before hearing a groan a few feet away. "Flirt later, guys," Kid Flash groaned, pushing himself off the ground. "By the way, thanks for catching me too, Rob." he commented sarcastically.

More screeches came our way and I pulled out a gun quickly, seeing five more vultures. I set the level to five and shot five times, ignoring slight pain. The vultures fell from the air with multiple pained screeches before landing on the ground.

"Nice shots," Kid commented, and I raised my hand to return his high five before wincing. I looked at my shoulders and saw that the clothing was ripped there, and blood was dripping out. "Looks a bit nasty."

"I got it," Robin said, before pulling out some bandages from his utility belt. I ignored the pain of the antiseptic as Robin cleaned the wound before he wrapped my shoulders. "There. That should hold for a bit."

"We should go check out some more of the area," I said, looking at the two. I placed my gun back into its holster at my hip and walked in-between the two teen heroes.

We continued walking through the forest, thankfully, this time with no more attacks by gigantic animals. We were surveying around a river before I heard a tug in the back of my head. _"Link established,"_ I heard Miss Martian's voice in my head.

_"Should he really still be giving us orders? And should _you_ really be following them?"_ I heard Artemis's defiant voice in my head.

"_Listen, please,"_ Aqualad ordered.

Kid Flash looked at me and Robin a bit sarcastically. _"Oh, great. Aqualad's voice in my head. I've _so_ missed that."_

I rolled my eyes and Robin spoke, _"Hey Kaldur! KF, Fal, and I were attacked by giant vultures! 'Course since we're _moles_, you probably think we ganged up on Fal and attacked her."_

"_Don't brin__g me into this,"_ I said, looking at Robin. He shrugged.

"_If he did, he wouldn't tell you,"_ Artemis replied. _"Fal, you okay?"_

"_Yeah,"_ I answered. _"I'm good."_

"_Superboy, are you online or just pouting?"_ Miss Martian asked.

"_Busy. Call back later,"_ Superboy replied shortly.

"_He's probably fighting his own animals right now,"_ I commented.

"_What gets me is how nonchalant he is about not telling us,"_ Kid Flash said, looking at Robin and me. I nodded. I didn't agree with this whole arguing thing, but the speedster had a point. _"Thank you."_

"_Well, he should be chalant. _Way_ chalant._ Extremely _chalant."_

"_I think we get it, Rob,"_ I interrupted my best friend's rant.

I started to get annoyed of all of the arguing in my head. _"You guys are giving me a headache,"_ I commented, leaning back against a tree. I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to calm my thoughts.

"_I don't see how you aren't mad, Fal. Kaldur kept secrets from _us_! We've known each other for years!"_ Kid Flash pointed out.

"_You think I'm not mad?"_ I asked, looking at Kid Flash. _"Of course I'm mad. _And_ I'm hurt. But acting this divided will bring us down, Wally. 'United we stand, divided we fall', ever heard that saying? Even if we don't get along, at least not let it affect the mission. That goes for the rest of you too." _

I crossed my arms and looked away, not wanting to see what Kid Flash's face was like. After Robin and Red Arrow, Kid Flash was another close friend of mine. I didn't want him mad at me too.

I felt a hand rest on my shoulder and turned. Kid Flash looked down at me, smiling. _"I couldn't be mad at you."_ I gave a small smile in return.

"_Now that that's been settled. We need to get down to business,"_ Aqualad said harshly. _"Captain Marvel has been captured. And we must act as a _team_ to save him."_

Wally mentally scoffed. _"Under _your_ leadership? I don't think–"_

"_This is not up for debate. You all chose me to lead. When the mission is over, if you wish to select a new leader, I will _happily_ step down. But until that time, _Iam in command_ here."_

"_Alright,"_ I said first, standing up and brushing the dirt off my clothes. _"First, we need to find their base."_

"_Kid, Robin, Falcon, where are your coordinates? I suspect you three may be closer,"_ Aqualad spoke.

"_He's right,"_ Kid Flash said. _"Weird, suspicious looking building at four o'clock."_ I walked over to where Kid Flash was and pulled out my binoculars. He was right.

"_The three of you head there first. Send coordinates and we'll be on our way. Stay out of sight,"_ Aqualad ordered.

Kid Flash ran on ahead and Robin and I pulled out our grappling hooks. We shot them and swung after Kid Flash. It didn't take us long to get there, probably ten minutes at the most.

I squinted my eyes before pressing the small switch on my mask, zooming in on the hideout we had found. There was something suspicious about this place, and it had something to do with those strange poles in the front.

"_I'll fly over and check it out,"_ I heard Miss Martian say.

"_Negative,"_ I rejected. _"Kid, see anything?"_

"_Force field that surrounds the compounds like a dome. Good call, Fal,"_ Kid Flash threw me a grin.

"_High lines are insul__ated, but one good shock could cause a momentary gap,"_ Robin reported, looking at his holo-computer.

I zoomed in with the functions of my mask and looked around. _"Found it,"_ I said, spotting the red switch. _"Artemis?"_

"_I see it,"_ Artemis told me.

"_Be re__ady to hit it,"_ Aqualad told us. _"Be ready… _all_ of you."_ Silently and swiftly, Aqualad rushed forward before touching the barrier. He sent his electricity through it, and just as predicted, a hole opened up.

Artemis shot an arrow through it easily, and it was a bull's eye, disabling the shield. He gave us the signal to move, and I was about to step out, until Robin held an arm in front of me. I looked at him curiously, but saw he was focused on something else.

I turned to see what it was just as a baboon let out a screech. Alarms went off and multiple baboons appeared, heading right toward us. We quickly engaged in battle, and suddenly found myself tackled by two baboons.

Robin let out a grunt at we both fell down, and I kicked the baboon away, but it quickly came back.

"Remove their collars!" Aqualad ordered us.

I grunted when one of the primates grabbed my hair. "Easier said than done…" I grumbled, yanking my head away. I winced as a few strands got pulled out of their roots and kicked forward. I whipped out a gun and shot at the collar, aiming for the little switch on it.

The collar snapped off easily and I aimed the gun where Robin and two of the monkeys were wrestling. I stood there, aiming for a few seconds, memorizing the pattern of movements. When I was positive, I shot consecutively, and the two collars fell off the monkeys.

The baboons ran away, screeching. Robin stood up quickly, and aimed two birdarangs in my direction. The weapons whizzed past me and knocked down two baboons. We looked at each other and grinned.

A gigantic black gorilla, armed and wearing a… was that a red beret? He suddenly turned around and roughly grabbed the air, which materialized into Miss Martian.

"Keep your paws off her you _damn, dirty ape_!" Kid Flash growled, charging towards the primate. He roughly charged into the gorilla, but then bounced off, landing on the ground.

"Robin!" I called, rushing towards the ape.

"Already on it!" he called back, running in the formation I wanted.

He jumped in the air and the gorilla followed after him. I used that as a distraction and I pulled out two guns. The gorilla noticed me and aimed his gun at me, shooting multiple bullets at me, which I dodged. He then growled in pain when Robin shot a grappling hook around him, and I saw electric waves travel.

"Miss M!" I called, and the Martian levitated the ape and threw him, making him break through the wall.

We all ran in, sans Miss Martian, who floated, into the room, and I spotted Captain Marvel strapped to a lab table, with the Brain standing not too far away, and a large, overgrown tiger on the ground.

"It's the Brain!" Kid Flash identified.

"Ugh!" Artemis exclaimed. "I can see it's a brain!"

"He's saying it's _the_ Brain. Criminal mastermind," I piped in before the two could start an argument with each other.

"Thanks babe," Kid Flash threw me a grin. "Glad _someone_ knows who I'm talking about."

"Now's not the time to flirt, KF!" Robin snapped.

"Chill, dude," Kid Flash held up his arms in surrender.

"In the flesh… _eh, so to speak_," the Brain said with his French accent. He turned to the gorilla and said, "Mallah."

The gorilla pulled out a switch and suddenly, the rocks that were around us had something come out. An intense wave of gravity hit us all and we all fell to the ground.

"_Miss Martian, Superboy, now!"_ Aqualad commanded.

Miss Martian levitated the switch over to where she was and the gravity push disappeared just as Superboy came crashing through another wall. A large, white wolf was buy his side and the Kryptonian looked a bit… _scratchy_, but alright.

I swung in the air and shot at the gorilla, kicking him in the face as I passed him and landed on the ground smoothly. A few seconds later, Robin landed beside me and I turned towards the rapid gun fire. Two could play it that game.

I slid in some explosive bullets and shot it, aiming to knock the weapon out of his hands. My ruse was successful, since Robin also threw a birdarang. We quickly surrounded the Brain and Monsieur Mallah while Aqualad freed Captain Marvel.

The ape roared angrily and Superboy punched his palm. "Try it," the clone goaded. "I _hate_ monkeys."

"No, Mallah," the Brain called to his lover. "This will not be our Waterloo. _Au revoir, mes amis._" Strange things popped out of the Brain and a loud, ringing sound crescendo'd as it charged.

"GET DOWN!" Kid Flash warned, but it all went black instead.

A second later, the lights came back on, and we were all surrounding nothing but air.

"Wait…" Kid Flash said, making me look at him. "That big weapon thing was… a _light switch_?"

"Nothing we can do here now," I said, looking at the ruined laboratory. "Let's call it a day," I sighed before placing my gun back in its holster.

The rest of the Team nodded and we began our way back to my jet. I frowned when I opened the GPS and realized how far we were. It would be sunrise by the time we got there.

I stifled a yawn as I walked beside Robin, who continued on. I looked at him. _'Penny for your thoughts?'_

Robin turned to me as he helped me up a small hill. _'I bet you can guess what I'm thinking.'_

'_Kaldur,'_ I replied, my eyes trailing at the Atlantean just a few feet in front of us.

Robin nodded. _'Yeah. I think… even after all this, I think he's the perfec__t leader for us.'_ Then he paused, rethinking something. _'Until I'm ready, that is.'_

I rolled my eyes and bumped my hip against his. He grinned back and returned the bump. I let out a soft laugh and Robin's smile got wider. My breath caught in my throat as I looked up at him, almost being able to see through his mask.

I didn't have to guess that his blue eyes were sparkling. His smile wasn't one of those mischievous ones, but a true, happy smile, something I always liked seeing. I think it's his best smile.

Robin wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer to him, and I relished in his warmth. It was summer in India and by all means not cold at all, but I enjoyed his body heat. We stunk of sweat, blood, mud, and dry tree branches, but I couldn't ask for anything better than this.

* * *

**A/N:** Remember to leave reviews, guys~!

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

"But Mom always said that was life, and if we spent our whole lives mourning, nothing will change."

"Hi, Mom."

"I like her. _A lot_. More than I should, I think."

"Is Robin your boyfriend?"

"Is that any way to treat your father?"

**Chapter 13: Mother**


	13. Mother

Oh my Gaw, guise._** Black Falcon**_'s almost at 100 reviews! 8D How much over 100 can we get?! :o  
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* * *

**GOTHAM CITY  
****SEPTEMBER 24, 2010  
****10:37 EDT**

I sat quietly at my desk, not bothering to listen to the teacher prattle on about the Quotient Rule and derivatives. I propped my left elbow on my desk, leaning on the soft palm of my hand.

My eyes scanned the room, vaguely taking in the various levels of interest in my classmates' expressions.

My eyes slowly met a familiar light blue, which reminded me of the skies I loved. My tension slowly diminished; my shoulders relaxed ever the slightest. Leave it to Dick to be able to do that.

Sometimes, I hate how he could read me just like he did a children's book. Other times, I appreciated how he just knew and always had the perfect response for what I felt.

"_What's up?"_ Dick asked me with his eyes.

I merely looked at the date written on the board before making eye contact with Dick again. He hadn't moved his eyes from me, stilling looking at me with a soft, yet serious expression.

"_I know,"_ his eyes told me. He looked at me with eyes that I had when I see him on April first.

A few seconds later, the phone rang, making Mr. Turner pause in his lecture. Dick was up in his seat, his Calculus book tucked under his arm, striding towards me the moment the phone had first rung.

He ignored Mr. Turner's stern look, focusing only on me as he stopped in front of my desk.

I felt my vision blur as he grabbed my Calculus book from my desk and lifted me up, encasing me in his arms.

"Mr. Grayson, Miss Blake, you're dismissed for today," Mr. Turner said once he hung up the phone. "Don't forget to do the homework that's due next Monday."

My head buried into the crook of his neck as he escorted me out of the room.

I blinked back the tears that had built up and pulled away from him once we were out of the class and walking down the empty halls.

I held his free hand, feeling much like a small child holding her older brother's hand. No. Not an older brother. A protector. _My_ protector.

I squeezed his hand gently and he looked down at me. He gave me a smile much different from his usual one and returned the gesture.

He led us to our lockers, which were adjacent to each other at the top. Given our status as newcomers and our below average height, we were supposed to have bottom lockers.

But given our statuses as co-Student Body Presidents and Bruce Wayne's wards, it heavily outweighed the others and we were given the best lockers on campus right next to each other.

In Gotham, everything was about status, especially around these parts of Northern Gotham.

I entered my combination with ease and grabbed my bag that was inside before closing it shut.

"I don't know why you insisted on coming to school today," Dick said quietly as we headed towards the exit of the school. "It's only the second year."

"I know," I replied, holding my bag closer to me since he still had my Calculus book. "But Mom always said that was life, and if we spent our whole lives mourning, nothing will change."

We left the school and started our trek back to the manor in silence.

"Maybe not your whole life," Dick started, "but once in a while is fine."

Silence fell around us as we walked through the bustling streets of Gotham. We stopped at a crosswalk; I looked around. It was nearby.

Dick began to take a step forward after the light changed, but my hand shot out and grabbed the crook of his elbow of his free arm.

"Wha–"

"Come with me," I cut him off. I half-pulled him down the block, not slowing down my pace. I could feel Dick's confusion radiating off of him, but he didn't ask any questions.

I led him to a location that I knew he was familiar with as well. We passed under an arc that read, "GOTHAM CEMETARY".

I slowed my pace down, but didn't release his hand.

I led him through the area, pulling him through the rows of headstones of the deceased.

"Oh," Dick mused quietly to himself. He sped up his pace slightly before I slowed my own pace. We walked next to each other in relative silence, relishing in each other's presence.

"I've never taken anyone here before," I admitted, just looking ahead of me. "Though I'm sure Bruce has visited a couple of times."

Dick chuckled under his breath slightly. "To be honest, I've watched you when you've visited a couple of times," he told me. "But I swear, I stood from a distance where I couldn't hear anything you said."

That explained the feeling of being watched when I visited.

I stood above a gravestone, still holding Dick's hand in my left. I silently read the words on the stone, breathing in the fresh air.

_**ZINDA BLAKE  
**__**FEBRUARY 19, 1975 – SEPTEMBER 24, 2008  
**__**MOTHER, ALLY, AND FRIEND**_

"Hi, Mom," I greeted, releasing Dick's hand. I bent down in front of the headstone, smiling softly at it. I wiped my hand over it to get rid of any dirt, which was minimal. I didn't doubt that Alfred cleaned her grave often. "Sorry I didn't bring any flowers. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing."

The only response I got were the sounds of birds chirping, dancing in the air, oblivious to where they were. I felt my eyes start to burn as they filled with unshed tears.

There was an incredible weight on my shoulders and I clenched my fists together tightly.

"Sorry," I muttered, pressing my palm to my eyes to get rid of the tear tracks. "You've always told me to be strong. But it's kinda hard, y'know?

"I-I-I miss you," I whispered. "A _lot_." The wind pushed around me and I smiled softly. "I should visit more often and keep you up to date more. Did you know Dick and I joined a team?"

Then something hit me.

"Oh. Um, Mom, this is Dick. Dick, my mother," I awkwardly introduced my best friend/brother to the headstone.

"Hi, Miss Blake," Dick smiled, waving at the headstone. "It's nice to meet you. Your daughter's amazing." He turned to me and smiled brightly at me.

A warm feeling rose to my cheeks and I turned away, softly smiling to myself. The wind whipped around me and I hushed it, "Oh shut up, Mom."

Dick chuckled and rubbed the top of my head affectionately. "I'll leave you two ladies to chat." He waved at the headstone and said, "It's great to finally meet the mother of the most amazing girl in the world." He gave another grin and I flushed before he walked away.

The wind spiked around me and I pouted. "_Mom_!" I protested. I knew _exactly_ what she was trying to say. "I do _not_ like him that way!"

The wind blew again and I blushed slightly. "Of course he's cute. You'd have to be blind to not notice that."

I thought about the times Dick and I held hands. I thought about when we argued. I thought about when we wrestled playfully.

My face heated up even further as I thought about our close interaction on the day of my birthday in Bruce's office.

I almost kissed Dick.

And strangely, I didn't find it repulsive. Actually, I rather… _welcomed_ it.

I shook my head. No. What was I thinking? Barbara liked Dick. It was that obvious to me. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind and refocused on my mother.

"Anyway, I made some new friends. There's Superboy, M'gann, and Artemis. Superboy's got a few anger management issues, but he's pretty fun. A bit awkward, but we're still working on it. M'gann's really adorable and sweet. She's also an _amazing_ baker and cook too! Though not as great as you, of course. And Artemis is a little spitfire and really feisty, but she's really, really cool. You'd like them."

I don't know how long I sat there, talking to her, filling in all that's happened in the past couple of months. My stomach growled, and I abruptly paused in my talking.

"Whoops," I grinned sheepishly, wrapping an arm around my stomach. "Guess I'm kinda hungry."

"Thought you might be," Dick said, coming up from behind me. "You've been talking to her for four hours already."

He handed me a take-out bag from McDonald's and a large sweet tea. I took it gratefully and opened the box that contained my _oh-so healthy_ Big Mac. Whatever. I'll just work off the calories.

I took a hearty bite and let out happy sound. This is definitely gonna hit the spot, along with the sweet tea and large fries. Dick sure knew how to treat a girl.

Dick chuckled and sat down on my other side. We sat in relative silence, with him just patiently waiting as I ate my food.

"Hey, V," Dick called for my attention. I looked at him, raising my eyebrows at him as I took gulps of my sweet tea. He smiled at me before saying, "You think I could have some words with your mom?"

I smiled at him and nodded. "Yeah, sure. Just text me when you're done, okay?"

**DICK GRAYSON**

I flashed her another grin before she stood up, taking the bag of fast food with her. She was probably going to go jogging to a nearby flower shop to get some flowers and then jog a bit more until I finished.

I kept watching her as she walked away. I think V just got a bit curvier. It looked like her hips got wider and her waist skinnier. Don't get me wrong, she still wasn't a _woman_ yet, but… it was getting there. I made a mental note to wrap my arms around her waist later.

Then I remembered where I was.

"Oh man, I'm sorry," I apologized, turning back to the headstone. "I uh… well…" I frowned, feeling much like a child that was caught with his hand in a cookie jar. "Well you can't blame me! I'm a hormonal teenager and V's a really, _really_ attractive girl."

I scratched the back of my head as the wind whipped some of my strands of hair that had escaped from its gel-hold. It was tickling me softly, like it was teasing me. Was this Verena's mom?

"Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that you have nothing to worry about," I said sheepishly. "I know it's a parent's job to worry for their kid, but you don't have to, even though V _does_ have some crazy _extracurricular_ activities."

The wind whistled around me and I smiled. "You can definitely trust me. I know you can't be there for her physically, but I will. Always.

"I wasn't lying to suck up to you when I said you have an amazing daughter. V's seriously the most amazing person I've ever met. An-and…" I sucked in a deep breath, my heart pounding against my chest heavily, "I like her. _A lot_. More than I should, I think."

The birds chirped around me and it felt like it was saying, _"Tell me more."_

"Well, for starters, I'm really protective of her. Bruce is too, but not to the extent _I_ am. I-I just always have to know if she's safe or happy. I really like it when she smiles. I wish I could've seen her as a baby. I wonder how cute her smile was. It's really pretty right now."

Oh dear, I sounded like a whipped guy. The sad part? She's not even my girlfriend.

"She's pretty funny and knows a lot too. She's always telling me stories about you or the Blackhawks as she grew up on Blackhawk Island. I'm sure she misses the place, but whenever I ask, she always avoids it. Has she always been this slippery?"

The wind blew against my locks and I suddenly chuckled. I could imagine her escaping from various Blackhawks from the base she grew up in.

I spotted Verena a few feet away, out of ear-shot, but still nearby. She was carrying a bouquet of red, pink, and white carnations. Her hair blew with the wind softly, and she gave me a small smile, which I returned.

"Thanks for the chat, Miss Blake," I said before standing up. I extended an arm towards Verena, signaling for her to come over.

I could hear the soft clacking of the back of the school-issued shoes before she stopped right in front of me. I gave her an encouraging squeeze on the shoulder before stuffing my hands into my pockets.

**VERENA BLAKE**

I kneeled down in front of my mother's grave and gave a bittersweet smile as I placed the bouquet of flowers on her grave. "Here you go, Mom. Did you have a nice chat with Dick?" I didn't wait for a reply before I stood up, brushing the dirt off the back of my skirt.

"I love you, Mom," I said. "See you later." I gave her another smile before I left, with Dick right behind me.

As we walked through the cemetery, I heard the beeping of my smartphone. There was another similar beeping, and I turned to see Dick pulling out his cell phone as well. I read the message on my phone:

_Dark's Pandemonium Carnival._

"Time to go to work," Dick said from behind me.

I nodded and we rushed off into the nearby trees. I used the shadows of the trees to change quickly. One thing I hated about wearing my school uniform, I wore a one-piece over my clothes in case I had to change in public.

I threw my uniform on over my one-piece, taking off my hidden guns in the first place. I stashed my guns into their holsters and threw on my utility belt, the item making a small _snap_ once I attached it properly.

I pulled out my mask from the pocket of my uniform and slipped it on, over my eyes. I pulled out my grappling gun and looked at Robin, who was already done dressing.

"Shall we?" he asked, a cocky smirk on his face.

I returned it with a confident smile of my own, "We shall."

When we got there, we perched ourselves on the roof of a building, observing what was going on. There was a gang of masked men, holding guns and threatening the people that were there with their families.

I furrowed my brows and looked at Robin. He gave me the _go ahead_ and I pressed on my com-link, "We're here. Should we wait for you?"

"_Hey!"_ came Bruce's happy voice. _"No. That's fine with me."_

"Got it," I replied easily. "Robin and I got it."

"_Alright. See you tonight. Bye."_

The com-link disconnected and I looked at Robin. He nodded his head and he swung to the next building, careful to not let him or his shadow be seen.

I used one eye to keep a lookout on the scene before me and another on Robin, who was hidden behind a sign. He signaled me with one-handed sign language, since I couldn't make eye contact with him.

'_I'm in position. Move in. Maneuver Three.'_

Maneuver Three. I go in first and then knock out who I can. Robin lets me go at it while he frees the hostages, knocking out who wasn't paying attention to me.

I gave the _okay_ and I launched myself from the building, no grappling needed. I tackled one of the gunmen and then pulled out my guns, one in each hand. I shot precisely at each of the gunmen's hands, making them drop their guns in shock and pain.

With them weaponless, I kicked the one I had tackled, effectively knocking him out. Three ran towards me and one actually grabbed me from behind. I struggled against him while one gave me a punch in the face.

I spat out the saliva that had built up on the ground, and grunted again, twisting my legs in an awkward way to escape. I pushed both my elbows back roughly, elbowing him in the gut. He chortled in pain and took a step back.

I twisted myself free before jumping and kicking upwards, making the one who held me captive fall to the ground. A trail of drool escaped him and I wrinkled my nose in disgust briefly before getting the other two, who strangely didn't attack me.

"Too stunned by your awesomeness," Robin chuckled, landing beside me.

I exchanged a smile with him before he grabbed me, spinning me around before he launched me at a guy. I processed the sound of a bullet being launched before I jumped out of the way, pushing both the crook and me out of the bullet's path.

I heard a grunt of pain, then a thud, and then a clatter, and knew that Robin took down the last guy. I punched the guy I had knocked down so he was unconscious, and then turned around to see Robin brushing the little bit of dirt he had on his hands off.

He gave me a grin and pointed in a random direction with his thumb. "Leave me to tie up these guys. You handle crowd control."

I gave him a nod before grabbing the guy that was at me feet. With a grunt, I hoisted him up. Jeez, this guy needed to lay off the hot Cheetos. I threw him semi-roughly to Robin, who caught him with ease.

"You're right," he agreed. I flashed him another smile before rushing to the entrance.

I heard some weeping and slowed my pace, making my footsteps quieter. There was more weeping and I found myself heading into the bushes. I frowned and got closer and closer to the cries.

Why hadn't anyone heard her or she hear the rushes?

I pushed back the bushes and I saw why she didn't hear. She had some adorable ear warmers on, which was strange, but they were cute on her. It wasn't all that cold yet, but she wore them like it was.

She continued weeping softly, and I cautiously placed a hand on her shoulder. She let out a scream and I immediately pulled my hand back. I reached for the ear warmers and quickly pulled them off. "Sh, sh," I hushed soothingly.

The little girl turned around, and she looked at me with large blue eyes, which were wet and glossy with tears. "Y-y-y-you're B-b-b-b-black F-f-f-falcon," she stuttered out.

I gave her a soft smile. "I am," I told her. "What's your name?"

"S-Sammy," she muttered out, furiously wiping away her tears. "My mommy's with bad guys. Could you help her?"

"We already did," I smiled down at her. "Now let's say we get you back to your mother, okay?"

She smiled up at me before standing up. However, it seems her legs were numb, because she stumbled and shut her eyes. However, I caught her before she fell.

I hoisted her up instead, and placed her on my hip. She was incredibly light, but that might just be from all of my years of working out.

"Black Falcon, where's Robin? And Batman?" Sammy asked, looking up at me curiously.

"Robin's typing up the bad guys," I responded. "Batman's busy with some work. It was just Robin and me today."

"Is Robin your boyfriend?" she innocently asked.

I almost stumbled on a rock but caught myself. "Wh-what?" I asked incredulously, looking down at her, stunned speechless.

"Is Robin your boyfriend?" she repeated.

I let out an uneasy laugh. "N-no," I laughed uncomfortably. "He's my best friend and my brother."

"Oh!" Sammy exclaimed. "I have a little brother! He's name is Ronny! He was too young to come with Mommy and me today. Daddy stayed at home with him."

"Oh?" I asked, smiling down at her. How cute.

We arrived at the entrance, where multiple camera crews and a large crowd were already gathered. I shielded Sammy away from the flashes, as she seemed frightened by them.

"Sammy!" a feminine voice called. "_Sammy_!"

The little girl suddenly gasped and whirled around. Her eyes scanned the crowd as the female voice kept calling her name. She wiggled in my arms and I released her. She jumped to the ground before screaming, "Mommy, mommy!" and running to the crowd.

The crowd parted like the Red Sea for the little girl and I saw a woman bent down, holding her arms open. "Sammy!" she exclaimed happily, crying out tears of joy as the little girl leapt into her arms. "Thank goodness you're safe!"

"Black Falcon found me!" Sammy exclaimed.

The woman picked up her daughter and then looked at me with teary eyes. She opened her mouth, and a choked gasp escaped her. "Thank you," she said weakly, but I heard her loud and clear.

"It was my pleasure," I responded, smiling at her.

"Black Falcon! Black Falcon!" the reporters then screamed, blocking my view from the woman. "Can you tell us what happened?"

I frowned before taking out my grappling gun. I shot it to the nearest pole I could find and swung myself away from the flashing lights. It was bad enough I had to deal with it in my other life.

I landed on a nearby building, a few ways from the carnival. Robin will find me.

A chill ran down my spine and I frowned. "What are you doing here?" I hissed, not bothering to turn around.

"Now, now," the owner of the voice said. "Is that any way to treat your father?"

I whirled around. "Like hell you are!" I narrowed my eyes at him, clenching my fists angrily. Must. Not. Hit. Him. Not yet at least.

"Touchy, touchy," my _father_ clicked his tongue, his green eyes gleaming. "Is that really how Batman has raised you? He's such a horrible role model."

I glared at him. "He's a way better father than you'll ever be."

I took after my mother, but my eyes were definitely his. It was like I was looking at my own two eyes. My eyes were completely his: the shape and the color. And I hated it.

"I'm just here to deliver a message," he continued on, ignoring my statement. "Come to Santa Prisca on December thirtieth."

I narrowed my eyes. "And if I don't?"

"I'll tell your precious little teammates about who your father truly is," he said. "_Me_."

My glare hardened and I clenched my fists tightly. "You're disgusting."

"Say what you want, but it doesn't make the truth any less true," my so-called father said before leaving the roof.

I frowned and stood there for God-knows-how-long, just staring at the location that my father was once standing. I felt another presence join me, but unlike before, it was 100% welcomed.

"Hey," Robin's voice came from behind me. "What's wrong?"

I turned to look at Robin, who was looking at me with a strange expression on his face. I opened my mouth to tell him, but what came out of my mouth surprised me, "It's nothing."

* * *

**A/N:** Please review, guise~! :3

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

"Coincidence? I think not," Wally said, looking at me. I nodded in agreement.

Wally frowned at me. "No need to be sarcastic, babe."

I instinctively grabbed Robin's hand and squeezed it as we spun around and around in the ship.

"Fal!" I heard Robin call.


	14. Injustice

**A/N:** I wanted more views before publishing this, but I'm so overrun by emotions of the new episode of **_Young Justice_** that I couldn't last another day! On the plus side, **_Black Falcon_**has reached over **100 reviews**! WOW! If we hit at least ten reviews for this chapter, I'll guarantee an update next week. ;) *hinthintnudgenudge*

**TohruOrihime:** Thanks for leaving the review! :D Here's the update you've been waiting for!  
**Kamil the Awesome:** It is, isn't it? ;D  
**Stronger123:** Thanksies! :D  
**Kelly1432:** You'll find out in due time. ;)  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** Why thank you, and jeez, you still did great! You'll find out who her father is eventually. :3  
**I Need Imagination:** LOL Thank you. And actually, a few seconds after you posted that review, I actually edited already. xD I look over my posts when I'm bored and I _always_ find mistakes. *sighs* Thanks for catching that though! :)  
**dracula-key:** LOL. I want to post that chapter SOOO bad. But I shan't. :x  
**dreamer:** PLEASE DON'T DIE. THERE ARE STILL A FEW MORE CHAPTERS TO GO!  
**simslovr1:** Well, here's the next chapter! :D

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
O****CTOBER 1, 2010  
****18:13 EDT**

I stood on the sidelines, watching quietly as Kaldur and Robin sparred with each other. The two then stopped sparring and the platform stopped glowing.

I looked at our new arrivals and saw Conner, M'gann, and Wolf walking towards us. The two smiled and I almost skipped over to Kaldur and Robin.

"You know they're a couple, right?" Robin asked.

Kaldur smiled softly. "I believe I knew before they did."

I heard more footsteps and turned to see Wally and Artemis walking towards us, and surprisingly, they weren't arguing. "What about them?" I asked, looking at my two male companions.

"It is not our place," Kaldur replied just before the two humans stopped in front of us.

"So if Zatara's our babysitter of the week, why is _he_ still here?" Wally asked, pointing at Captain Marvel, who was eating a chocolate bar. Huh. That thing looked familiar. "And why is he eating my snacks?!" Oh. That's why the bar looked familiar. It was Wally's.

"_Recognized: Batman: Zero__-Two."_

"Computer, national news," Batman said before the Zeta-Beam light stopped glowing.

At once, a large holographic screen appeared and Cat Grant was reporting live from Metropolis.

"_The initial attack was short-lived, but Metropolis was only granted__ a short reprieve."_ The camera then changed to a large plant, surrounding one of the many tall buildings in the city, before smashing it to pieces. _"And despite the intervention of Superman and the Justice League, there seems to be no end in sight."_

"Should we get out there?" Robin asked our mentor.

Batman turned to look at us. "No," he said shortly. "The League will soon have the situation under control. That's not why I'm here. According to your intel, Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus Blockbuster Formula to Kobra."

"Who combined it with Bane's Venom to create Kobra-Venom," I piped in.

"Which the Brain used to create his animal army," Robin added.

Conner patted Wolf lovingly. "And upgrade Wolf."

"The Brain also used intervention collars likes the ones used at Belle Reve Penitentiary," M'gann furthered.

"Batman, is it possible that that plant-thingy's on Kobra-Venom too?" Artemis inquired.

"I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis," Batman informed, and a keyboard appeared in front of him. "The vine does contain a trace of some sort of Kobra-Venom variant."

"Coincidence? I think not," Wally said, looking at me. I nodded in agreement.

Robin slid his hand across the air and a similar keyboard popped out while Kaldur concluded that criminals were working together worldwide. I watched him work while I heard my foster father mention something about a secret society of villains.

"Similar plant creatures have sprouted in Gotham City, Paris, Star City, Taipei," I read Robin's notes and he was about to add more, until static appeared on all five screens behind Batman.

"_Dude_!" Wally protested, looking at Robin.

"It's not me!" Robin countered back, typing furiously. "Someone's cutting the satellite signal! _All_ the satellite signals!"

Joker's face appeared on the screens and I frowned. I did _not_ like clowns.

Joker tapped on the screen, his creepy grin not faltering one bit. "Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt your regularly schedule mayhem to bring you _this important message_." He pulled out a switchblade and then moved the camera to six other supervillains. "From the _In_justice League!"

The camera zoomed in to Count Vertigo, who began to speak. "We are responsible for the attacks on your cities. If you wish to save them, a ransom of ten billion American dollars is required. Delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations. There is no time limit. But, the longer your governments wait…"

Joker moved the camera back to him. "The more we get to have our… _jollies_." And then he proceeded to laugh before static appeared again.

I frowned and Robin stepped aside for me to tap back into the signals and retrieve the video while Batman said something about Aquaman preparing the ransom.

"Count Vertigo, the Joker, Poison Ivy, Ultra Humanite, Atomic Skull, Black Atom, Wotan, _seven_ heavy hitters!" Robin named off easily. "Probably behind nearly everything and everyone we faced."

"There's your secret society," I said, looking at Batman.

"Not-so-secret anymore," Artemis said.

"Perhaps after India, they realize we would deduce the truth and saw no point in hiding any longer," Kaldur pointed out.

"Yeah?! That was _their mistake_!" Wally exclaimed, his fist clenching excitedly. "Right now, I say we go kick some plant-creature butt!"

"The Justice League will handle the plants," Batman interjected, and the speedster's face dropped. "I have a different job for this team. With the plants hitting so many locations simultaneously, there _must be_ a central control system. Your mission is to destroy it."

"You realize what you're _really_ asking them to do, right?" Zatara asked, approaching the Dark Knight.

My fist bumped Robin's below our hips.

"They're ready," Batman concluded, and I held back a grin.

"Ready?" Wally asked, confused. Fastest boy in the world yet slow in the brain, ironic. "Ready for what?" I heard a punching sound and Wally recoiled in pain. "Ow! Will you cut that–?"

"_Hello_, Wally!" Artemis exclaimed. "If the big guns are fighting plants, who do you think _we'll_ be fighting?"

"I don't know! I guess we'll be–"

"Should I spell it out for you, Walls?" I asked from the computer. I typed out "THESE GUYS" onto the computer and the words appeared above the supervillains' heads.

"_Ohhhhh_."

"Yeah," I nodded. "_Ohhhhh_."

Wally frowned at me. "No need to be sarcastic, babe."

"I trust you are correct," the Italian magician said.

"I trust _you_ can locate them," the Dark Knight responded.

"Of course," Zatara nodded his head. "Black Falcon, if you would please provide the globe."

Without another word, I looked down at the keyboard and typed in a few codes. A few seconds later, a holographic globe appeared near us.

Zatara walked over to the globe and held out his hands before saying, "Etacol retnecipe fo yrecros!" A few seconds later, a red dot appeared on the map. "There. That is where you'll find the Injustice League's central control system."

I looked at Robin.

"Coordinates locked in. The Louisiana Bayou," Robin identified. I deactivated the holographic keyboard and followed everyone else out of the room. I took off my civilian clothes along the way, throwing them in various corners, where we knew they'd be cleaned up somehow.

My uniform was under it and I made sure to turn away from the others in order to stick on my mask.

I joined the others in the Bio-Ship this time, since the Bio-Ship was smaller and would be more difficult to detect. The seatbelts automatically went around me and we set off for Bayou Bartholomew.

**BAYOU BARTHOLOMEW  
****OCTOBER 1, 2010  
****18:52 CDT**

I checked my guns in my hands as we all sat in silence. The tension was immense, since this was going to be our first time taking down big villains as a team.

It wasn't until Kid Flash spoke up that the tension broke. "What's in the duffel?"

"Plan B," Aqualad responded.

"Ugh!" Miss Martian suddenly exclaimed, making us turn to her.

"You alright?" Superboy questioned.

"Dizzy," Miss Martian said, holding her face.

"Martians get _airsick_?" Robin asked curiously to me. I shrugged.

"She _does_ look a bit greener than usual," Kid Flash piped in. I just shook my head in disapproval of the speedster's statement.

"Not me, _her_," Miss Martian responded.

"I feel fine," Artemis said incredulously. "Falcon?"

"What? Me being airsick is just ridiculous," I shook my head. Robin nodded in agreement. I looked concernedly at Miss Martian. "Are you okay?"

"It's not them," Miss Martian explained. "The _Bio-Ship_. She's trying to shield us, but–"

I suddenly found myself thrust forward in my seat, and I groaned as the belt stopped me from going too far, but it knocked the wind out of me. I placed my hand on the controls in front of me to steady myself as I heard a loud _thud_.

I instinctively grabbed Robin's hand and squeezed it as we spun around and around in the ship. My hair whipped everywhere around me before we crashed to a stop.

We all groaned when the ship was stable, but then I felt the ship groaning as something grabbed at it. I looked outside the window and saw these large, moss green vines wrapped around the Bio-Ship, pulling us down into a murky lake.

There was a thump above us and I whirled around. The top of the Bio-Ship was ripped open by Black Atom, and Miss Martian groaned in pain. The seatbelt around me disappeared and I quickly grabbed my rebreather just after Superboy punched the villain away.

Water began to quickly fill the Martian airship, and I looked at Robin before putting on the rebreather. He did the same and we nodded before diving under while Artemis said something.

A few seconds later, Miss Martian dived down and opened up a hatch at the bottom of the Bio-Ship.

"_Out, everyone out!"_ Aqualad ordered in our heads. We all headed towards the hole, swimming up to the surface.

I saw the dim light of the sunset reflect on the water as I got closer and closer to the surface. The cold Louisiana air hit me as I surfaced and I pulled off my rebreather, pushing my hair out of my face. Artemis walked past me and towards the others, who were watching the Bio-Ship sink to the depths of the lake by the plants.

I used Robin as a leverage to push myself up onto the muddy earth, and frowned. I just took a shower an hour ago too. I rinsed out my hair, but then suddenly grasped my head painfully as a pain filled it.

I fell to the ground roughly and groaned in pain. It felt like my head was splitting in two. Or being thrown against the wall by a Kryptonian. I used all of my strength to look at who was the perpetrator and saw Vertigo standing above Kid Flash.

The pain disappeared and Kid Flash let out a painful cry, holding his head. I still felt my brain throbbing, but it was bearable, at least. Aqualad pulled out his water swords and aimed an attack at Vertigo, pushing him away before turning to Robin and me.

"_Robin, Black Falcon, Miss Martian, disappear! We will keep them busy! You three will fulfill the mission objective!"_

We were already on it. Robin and I had jumped up and blended into the trees the second Aqualad turned to us. Miss Martian joined us a few seconds later and we scurried off towards the base of the Injustice League.

The sky above us continued to get darker, but it wasn't completely gone yet, from what I could tell. Even though it wasn't dark outside, it was sure dark where we were, because the large trees were blocking the sunlight.

Robin activated his map and the two of us led the way while Miss Martian trailed behind us. We weren't far from the base, so we had to take extra precautions. I pulled out a gun and cocked it, ready for anything that would pop out.

"_I've lost contact with Aqualad and the others,"_ Miss Martian informed us. Robin and I exchanged looks. It was unfortunate, but we had a mission to finish. _"Should we–"_

"_Sorry, but that's not what we're supposed to __do,"_ I replied, shaking my head. Robin deactivated his map and pushed aside a branch that blocked out view.

"_This is,"_ my partner spoke. _"The Injustice League's central control system."_

Someone needed a new decorator. The thing was horrendous. It looked like a large green bulb with triangular designs on the bulb and some vines emerging from the top of it.

"_I'd say that plant's acting as an antenna,"_ I spoke mentally.

"_To control the oth__er plants worldwide,"_ Robin agreed.

I felt a presence behind me, but it was too late. I whirled around as a feminine voice greeted, "Well hello," before plants shot out from beneath us. I was ensnared by the vines tightly and winced in pain as the three of us were lifted higher and higher above the ground.

I faintly saw Ultra-Humanite appear next to Poison Ivy, and I remembered the weapon I had in my hand. I twisted my wrist, wincing slightly as I felt my bone crack uncomfortably and pressed down on the trigger multiple times.

Muffled shots wrung out as I felt a breeze hit my hand while a hole was formed in the plant. I used it to break my hand free while Miss Martian took control of Ultra-Humanite's gun. The large primate let out a roar of frustration as it blasted the plants' roots, freeing us.

I landed on the ground easily on my feet and Robin grabbed my gunless hand, dragging me deep into the forest. Robin and I split up a few feet away as Ivy's plants headed toward us. I couldn't swing myself from the branch, so instead, I grabbed and climbed up it before jumping away from Ivy's attack.

I switched my gun to my uninjured hand and began to shoot consecutively at Ivy's plants, destroying most of them.

A plant shot out from underneath me and I grunted when I went flying.

"Fal!" I heard Robin call.

I felt his strong arms catch me before he lost his balance due to another plant. We slid along the mud; my blonde hair becoming a mixture of yellow and brown. We stood up quickly just before the plants that were going to attack us were destroyed.

"_Robin, Falcon, she's made contact,"_ Miss Martian reported.

"_Artemis?"_ Robin and I inquired at the same time.

"_No,"_ Miss Martian replied before I saw a blur of red. Ah. The Bio-Ship.

I saw the silhouettes of our teammates falling from the sky and I dashed away, heading towards the building. Robin followed my lead and we swung ourselves up to the roof via our lines.

The two of us pulled out exploding birdarangs and we stuck them to the plant everywhere we could. Miss Martian levitated a few onto the higher parts. After we were done, I grinned as I looked at the plant.

It looked like a really ugly Christmas tree.

I activated them, and the explosion echoed in the surrounding area. The plant fell all around the three of us, and I smirked down at Poison Ivy.

"Timber," Robin commented and we knuckle-touched.

Angrily, the woman launched more roots and vines at us, but they were blasted away by Miss Martian. We jumped out of the way as a beam of energy shot toward us and I looked at who it was.

Atomic Skull and Joker.

"Children?" Joker asked, glaring at us. "_Children_ foiled our plan? Inconceivable. Unacceptable! _Retributional_! The last one might not be a word, so _sue me_."

Joker charged towards me and I jumped out of the way, kicking him in the process. I flew in the air temporarily before landing in-between Miss Martian and Robin. I dashed away before Atomic Skull's attack was able to hit us.

I joined Artemis and shot my gun beside her while she launched arrows at Vertigo. I then fell to my knees and lost my concentration, landing roughly in the mud.

I began to get light-headed, but then a shock of lightning jolted me awake, and away. I rolled slid above the mud, gasping for breath as the electric shocks ran through my body painfully. When the pain was gone, I scrambled to my feet.

I tried to regain my balance, but then Ivy's plants threw me. I moaned in pain as I landed against a hard chest, and I heard Robin let out a grunt as he caught me. He settled me down to my feet before I heard the sound of a knife being pulled.

"I get _Wonder Boy_ and _Wonder Girl_!" Joker cried before laughing hysterically.

We dodged the knife attacks and I shot at him while I flew in the air, but Joker avoided them. The knife glinted against the light of all of the debris and he smiled at us both creepily.

"I always wanted to _carve_ these _birds_," Joker lowly hissed out. He pulled out another switchblade and charged at us.

I jumped out of the way of yet another attack and retaliated with a gunshot. It successfully knocked out one of his switchblades, and then something whizzed past me before I saw Joker's knife pin to a tree.

I leaned forward, catching my breath as mud, sweat, and water dripped down my face as the members of the Justice League arrived and landed on the ground, surrounding the Injustice League.

"It's over," Batman said stoically.

Everyone but the Joker raised their arms in surrender and Vertigo declared, "There will be another day."

"_Another day_?" Joker hissed out. "There won't be _another day_!" he spat venomously. "Not for any of us!" he declared before he moved his fingers.

Vines shot out from the ground and then exploded. My eyes widened as I saw the familiar color of musky green gas filled my vision.

"Joker venom spores!" I gasped.

"Don't breathe!" Batman warned before going to punch Joker.

I held my breath and then saw Aqualad in Dr. Fate form fly above us. "Fear not!" he declared. A gold glare appeared above us, and I watched as the cross Dr. Fate had summoned absorbed all of the gas toxins. "Fate has intervened!"

"You're better off surrendering," I nodded from where I stood. My breath had long since returned and I was breathing normally now.

The members of the Justice League, sans Captain Marvel, Aquaman, Batman, and Zatara, arrested the members of the Injustice League and carried them away. After they were out of our line of sight, Wally exploded.

"_What were you thinking_?!" he roared. "How could you let him put on the _helmet_?!" I knew everything about the helmet and the Team's mission from Batman's notes, so I knew what was going on. "Nabu will never release him now… Kaldur will be trapped inside Dr. Fate forever."

A silence fell over us, before I saw Dr. Fate pull off his helmet.

I watched as Aqualad returned and Wally rushed to Aqualad, glad that our leader was back.

"We're done here," Batman declared. "The super-secret villain society has been neutralized. As for _your_ performance…" He looked at each and every one of us. I saw his eyes land on me before trailing down to what I knew was my right wrist. He knew. I never held a gun in my left hand unless my right, my dominant hand, was occupied. His eyes narrowed the slightest bit before looking at the rest of the Team. "It was satisfactory."

When he finished, the Batplane soared above us. I immediately recognized it as the old one. I wonder what happened to the new one. "Robin and Black Falcon, you're coming back with me. The others will return to the Cave. A mission debrief will be held tomorrow morning at six. Dismissed."

I placed my gun back into its holster on my right side before jumping into the seat beside Robin's in the Batplane. Batman climbed in the pilot's seat before the tinted glass covered over us.

I sighed heavily once we took off and threw my left arm over my masked-covered eyes since my right arm was injured. "I'm so tired," I groaned.

"You can rest after you have Alfred check your wrist," Batman responded. I peeled my arm off and my eyes met his in the rearview mirror. "Is there anything you had, Robin?"

"Nothing more than the usual," Robin waved off. "You must've gotten that when you shot at the plants." Robin took my right hand in his left and pulled off my glove gently. I ignored the sharp stinging pain and looked down at it.

I frowned when I saw it was a nasty, angry purple-red. "It's probably just sprained," I frowned, diagnosing it. "My bone cracked, but it was probably just one of those resets." It was definitely difficult to move, and the discoloring glared angrily at me.

"Have it checked. Robin's in charge of making sure you don't strain your right wrist any further than it already has been," Batman ordered.

"Of course," Robin replied. I sighed and then leaned back in my seat, looking out the window as we headed back to Gotham City.

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

Without looking at me, I felt his free hand, the one not holding our schoolbags, slip into mine. "Home is where you are, V."

He grinned up at me before leaning up and placing his lips gently on my cheek. I flushed and he grinned mischievously at me. "Don't be."

Red Arrow smirked at me and answered, "Green Arrow's at a party with Canary. Patrol with me?"

I felt the cold blade trace my cheek again and she said, "So _you're_ her..."

I watched in amusement as his cheeks began to redden and he looked away. "I-" he stated, but it sounded like he _croaked_ it out. "I didn't mean it like _that_." I laughed and he continued to attempt to hush me. "Stop it, Fal!"

**Chapter 15: Roy**

* * *

**A/N:** Remember to review, guys~! ;) And check out **_The Robin and Th__e__ Falcon_** if you haven't! I've been furiously updating that. LOL. You can actually leave requests in that story if you want Verena spending time with other characters. :) Once again, **review**~!


	15. Roy

**A/N****:** Whoo! You guys are awesome! Here's an update like I promised. :)

**That dorky blonde:** awenfihserg. REALLY?! THANK YOU SO MUCH.  
**Stronger123:** And I love you! :D  
**Kelly1432:** Sadly, no... :| Though that would be adorable, yes. I could possibly do a chapter of that in _**The Robin and The**_** _Falcon_**_._ xD  
**monzepelmoon:** Here you go~! :)  
**Kamil the Awesome:** She sure is, I'll tell you that much! :D  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** Zatanna will appear in the _next_ chapter! ;)  
**ForgeandGred4Ever:** waefnig. I love Red too. ;3  
**TohruOrihime:** Do you read _**The Robin and The**_** _Falcon_**? Your questions might be answered in there. :)  
**Sarcasmnsparkles:** Thank you! Sorry, but there isn't much Rob/Fal in here either! D: Soon, I promise!  
**goddess of the nigth:** Thank you! Unfortunately (or fortunately, idk), this is an original chapter. It's not part of the YJ plot. ;3  
**dreamer:** OMFG WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN GURRRRL. LOL. I don't know what to call it either. Reading/watching? Thanks a lot! :D  
**Redmissy100:** EEEKKKKK AND I LOVE YOU. :)  
**FanGurl4Eva:** Here's the next chapter! :D  
**Forevermore21:** Here you go~!

Enjoy, guys! :D

* * *

**GOTHAM CITY  
****OCTOBER 2****, 2010  
****17:12 EDT**

I threw on a pair of sunglasses as the sun started to get lower, blocking out the UV rays from my eyes. From my peripheral vision, I noticed Dick do the same thing.

We were heading back to the manor, on our way home from school.

Alfred was busy running some errands, so we had to walk, which wasn't really a big deal. I actually preferred walking to getting a ride, since I was able to take everything in.

To other people, Gotham City was a cold, dreary, unfriendly place with the highest crime and pollution rate, but to me, Gotham City was home.

"It's home for me too," Dick said, snapping me out of my thoughts. I turned to him, and he continued, looking straight ahead, sunglasses blocking the sunlight. "Living with Haly's Circus meant we were always on the road. My home was a trailer; we were always on the road. It was where my family was. After they died, I had no idea where to come home to. I mean, there was my uncle, but… still. Then Bruce adopted me." He looked at me. "And then you."

Without looking at me, I felt his free hand, the one not holding our schoolbags, slip into mine. "Home is where you are, V." He smiled down at me. I returned the gesture, and gave his hand a small squeeze.

We continued to walk in silence through the streets, almost meandering through them. By the time we had arrived back at the manor, the sun had already set.

"Good evening, Master Dick, Miss Verena," Alfred greeted us. We gave him nods of acknowledgements before we headed into the television room.

Dick placed our stuff on the coffee table as I grabbed the remote and turned on the television. I plopped down onto the couch, bouncing slightly on the soft cushion before it got used to my weight and settled.

Dick gracefully sat down next to me and lazily swung an arm over my shoulders. I leaned into him instinctively, and we watched Cat Grant give a news report.

She was giving a recap on what had happened yesterday, and was reporting the damages on what Ivy's plants had dealt worldwide. Unconsciously, I rubbed my sore wrist, which was wrapped securely by bandages, courtesy of Alfred, to prevent further strain on it.

"Would any of you care for a snack?" Alfred's polite voice trailed from the doorway. "I baked some cookies earlier. Double-fudge."

"Yes, please!" Dick and I chirped. "With milk!"

"Coming right up, Master Dick, Miss Verena."

True to his word, Alfred later came back with a tray of double-fudge cookies and two tall, cold glasses of milk. Oh, bless the man.

"Dinner will be placed in the fridge tonight as usual," Alfred informed us. It wasn't uncommon for us to not eat at a set time, due to our activities. Usually Dick and I just chose to snack on something when we got home and then eat at a later time.

The both of us nodded, and the butler left the room to whatever job he was doing before we came back.

Dick and I sat there on the couch, not really doing anything. It was a typical Friday night.

Bruce walked in at around eight, and glanced at us. "I have a party to attend tonight," he informed us.

"Have fun," Dick and I dismissed easily, engrossed in an action-thriller movie that was on. Had I looked up, I would've known Bruce had smiled softly, shaking his head before leaving the room.

We sat there, just watching movies and in each other's presences for a couple more hours. I wasn't sure how long, but then I sat up. My neck groaned in protest, since it was so used to the position I was in.

I pulled out my phone and took a look at it. Oh jeez, it was already eleven.

"I'm gonna shower and get ready," I said, patting Dick lightly on his shoulder.

"M'kay," Dick nodded in acknowledgement. His eyes didn't trail from the James Bond movie we were watching.

I then leaned down and gave him a kiss on the head.

That caught his attention.

He looked up at me as I tensed up. Why'd I do that?

"Uh… Sorry?" I told him questioningly.

He grinned up at me before leaning up and placing his lips gently on my cheek. I flushed and he grinned mischievously at me. "Don't be." He then turned toward the television, lazily placing his arm on the top of the couch and propping his feet on the coffee table.

I placed my hand over my cheek. I still able to feel his soft, hardly chapped lips against my soft cheek. Oh gosh, what was wrong with me?

It turned around and began to hastily leave the room, heading up the grand staircase and to my room. By the time I shut the door behind me, my heart was pounding like I ran a mile in a minute.

I leaned against the cold wood of my door. Why'd I kiss him like that?

Better question: why'd _he_ kiss _me_?

And then that smile. It was a smile I was used to seeing, but his smile never made me almost forget to breathe.

I shook my head and then stalked to my adjoining restroom, closing the door behind me.

**DICK GRAYSON**

After I had kissed Verena, I leaned back casually and acted like it didn't affect me.

Once she had practically ran out of the room though, I quickly covered my face with my hands and groaned out loud, "_**Ugggghhhhhhh**_!"

I slid my hands down my face and leaned my head back on the couch, my neck craning so it was looking at the ceiling. My face felt like it was burning, just like the fire that was surrounding the building of my movie.

"Nice going Dick," I commented sarcastically to myself. "Just scare her away, why don't ya?"

To be honest, I had no idea why I reacted like that. My mind went blank as soon as Verena's soft lips were placed onto my head.

My right hand rose and then placed itself on my scalp, directly over the place she had kissed. At this point, I had no doubt in my mind that I pretty much love Verena.

I had found her _extremely_ attractive the moment Bruce had given me a picture of her told me to approach and keep an eye on her. And that was when she was eight. _Eight_ years old.

Now she was twelve, the age when a girl starts her transformation into a woman. She was by no means fully developed yet, not like the other girls in our school, but something just drew me to her.

I still remembered the day I met her.

She was walking into town, since she lived on the outskirts of the city, near Wayne Manor. I had offered to give her a ride, and her bright green eyes, which were weary and tired, narrowed in suspicion.

I was ecstatic the day Bruce announced that he was going to adopt her. I was going to be able to see her every day, and hang out with her all the time. Not that I hadn't already.

"When did _you_ become the girl?" I scolded myself.

Then we met Roy, Kaldur, and Wally, in uniform and at different times, of course.

Roy was a cool guy, but, I'm man enough to admit it, I'm jealous that he almost always had V's attention. I have a sneaking suspicion that he likes Verena, but she's just too young right now.

Kaldur was just a patient, older-brother kind of guy to us. He was calm and patient as he told us stories of Atlantis, and we would tell him stories about our adventures in Gotham. He spent quality time with both of us, but never favored the other.

Wally and I had really hit it off. With Verena too, but she sometimes opted to stay out so I could spend time with Wally, which was why he was my best friend after Verena.

She would sometimes not hang out with us, and instead head to Star City to hang out with Roy, which probably added to my jealousy to Roy, but hey, I was always the one that she'd return to. But I had to admit, Roy was a nice guy and he treated her… _us_ right. Just like a friend.

I'd give my life for the guy, and he would too.

But of course, I still enjoy kicking his butt in sparring matches.

I snickered quietly to myself before pulling out my phone. I had spent _half an hour_ reminiscing? Jeez. I turned off the television that I had no longer been paying attention to and stalked up to Verena's room.

**VERENA BLAKE**

I was just finishing getting dressed, sans my mask, when I heard my phone ring from an incoming phone call.

"Hello?" I asked nonchalantly, not bothering to look at the Caller ID.

"_How soon can you get here?"_ the owner of the voice didn't even bother asking if I was busy. Typical of him. I had recognized the owner of the voice as soon as he spoke.

"Ten minutes if you define your definition of _here_ and I get it cleared," I responded.

"_Under Star Bridge,"_ Roy explained. _"Dressed."_

"Well I certainly won't be there naked," I joked, grabbing my mask from my secret compartment in my closet before closing it. "Just wait a bit."

There wasn't even a sound of confirmation. Just a dial tone, signaling he had hung up on me. Again.

I frowned, staring at the screen of my phone. I then turned it off and placed my mask over my face.

"I see you're ready," Dick commented casually, leaning against the door of my room. "Just let me get dressed and we can head out."

"About that," I said, looking at him. "Do you think you can manage tonight?"

Dick frowned, "Why? It's the first time in a while since we got to patrol Gotham by ourselves."

"Roy called," I explained. "He wanted me in Star City tonight."

My adoptive brother obviously did not look pleased, but he relented, "Yeah. Whatever. I can handle it. I'll call if something bad's up."

I smiled apologetically at him. "Maybe next time?"

"Sure," Dick nodded stiffly.

I flashed him another smile before leaving the room, walking past him and heading to the Batcave. I felt eyes on me as I walked down the hallway and turned.

Dick was now standing in the middle of the hallway, between the doors of our rooms. His arms were crossed and he was looking at me with an intense look in his eyes.

He snapped out of whatever trance he was in and then entered his bedroom, closing the door behind him. I felt bad for leaving him, since it _was_, like he said, the first time in a while since we worked alone together, but I seriously wondered what Roy needed.

**STAR CITY  
****OCTOBER 2, 2010  
****22:38 PDT**

"Robin's not happy," I said, landing on the dirt that was beneath Star Bridge.

Red Arrow turned around, facing me. He shrugged, "Oh well."

"So what'd you call me for?" I asked, looking at him. "Some butt-kicking involved?"

Red Arrow smirked at me and answered, "Green Arrow's at a party with Canary. Patrol with me?"

"That's it?" I frowned. "I thought we were gonna stop some big operation or something. I could just do that in Gotham since Batman's busy tonight too."

"But you've never fully patrolled Star City for a night, haven't you?" Red Arrow asked me, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"One, that's my thing," I retorted. "And two, no, I haven't. Where do we start?" Star City was about ninety square miles smaller than Gotham, but this was Red's city.

"I'll start from the west and work my way east," Red Arrow answered without missing a beat.

I nodded my head and we split off in different directions, with me heading to the east of Star City. It didn't take me long to find myself perched on the roof of a tall building.

I was listening quieting to my radio link in my left ear, which was giving me a live feed of the police radio in Star City. I had hacked their satellite signal to make all reports head towards me. In my right ear, my com-link was ready for any messages from Red Arrow, Robin, or anyone else I was acquainted with.

I heard a bunch of jumbled reports, all from the result of interfering through many police lines. It was alright though, because Batman had trained me to decipher every word carefully without flaw.

"_Report from Red Arrow–"_

"_Officer Hernandez–"_

"_Bank robbery on Second Street. All available units report._"

That was my cue.

I stood up from my spot on top of Queen Industries' rooftop and swung myself through the air, my hair flying behind me as I did so.

It didn't take me long to land on the roof of Star Banks. I landed smoothly on the roof, approaching the skylight of the building, which was open.

I jumped down, swinging quietly in the large place, hiding as best as I could behind the large poles that supported the structure.

The vault was wide open and I snuck quietly towards it, before I noticed something from the corner of my eye. A trap.

"You're not Red," a somewhat sultry voice commented.

I whirled and saw a female, standing at around 5'8" with thick black hair wearing a cat-like mask. Her olive-colored skin was complimented with a short dark green kimono that had some tears to it, and a pair of knee-high black boots.

I recognized her immediately as Cheshire, Sportsmaster and Huntress's eldest daughter... and Artemis's older sister. Hey, Batman's protégée, remember?

"No, but that doesn't really matter," I replied, pulling out a gun and directing it at her.

"Actually," Cheshire commented, "it does." Just as she said that, she launched at me.

I jumped out of the way and shot at her while in midair, and she did multiple flips out of my way.

"How cute," Cheshire commented sarcastically. "The little girl's trying to play hero."

I narrowed my eyes and moved to grab smoke bombs from my belt. I threw them on the ground and used the chance to slip easily in the cloud, heading towards Cheshire.

I shot and I heard a grunt of pain, before something launched out towards me. I grunted as Cheshire grabbed me roughly, rolling me on the ground.

I felt the cold blade of her sai slice my cheek and she pinned me to the ground. I let out another grunt before she leered down at me, in an almost... threatening way.

I felt the cold blade trace my cheek again and she said, "So _you're_ her..."

I ignored the confusion that seeped through my body and moved to kick her, but she continued to pin me. She raised her sai to strike me, just as I came up with a plan to attack, but a voice stopped us.

"Get off of her," Red Arrow's steely voice filled the room.

I angled my head and saw Red Arrow standing at the entrance, his bow and arrow poised. His eyes were narrowed in a threatening manner, as he glared at Cheshire and me... well, more Cheshire than me.

I felt Cheshire drop her guard slowly and I took the chance. I broke free from her grip, giving her a punch in the face before rolling out of the way, as she landed with a grunt to the floor.

I ran over so I was next to the redhead and blew a strand of hair out of my face. "About time you got here," I commented.

"You alright?" Red Arrow ignored my comment.

"Yeah," I responded. I withdrew a second gun and focused it on Cheshire as she got up from the ground.

"Well, aren't you a brat?" Cheshire commented, looking at me. Then she turned to Red Arrow. "I was waiting for you to show up. You never called me."

"What?" I blanched, looking from Cheshire to Red Arrow. "Y-Ro-Red!" I protested, looking at my companion. "Why didn't you tell me there was something between you and Cheshire?!"

"Wha-" Red Arrow stumbled, before looking at me. "_No_! There's _nothing_ between me and her!"

"I'm hurt," Cheshire said mockingly. "I thought our date went quite well."

I gaped at him. "A _date_?!"

"_**No**_!" Red Arrow furiously denied, looking down at me with wide eyes. "It was that mission in Taipei I told you I was going to!"

"_That_ was your mission?" I asked curiously. "A _date_ with _Cheshire_... in _Taipei_?"

"No!" Red Arrow denied again. "Cheshire was the assassin sent! She has a delusion that _that_ was a date!" Then he turned to Cheshire. "What are you even doing here? Robbing a bank isn't your usual M.O."

"Just wanted to grab your attention," Cheshire replied. "Though it seems you already had _company_." She turned towards me, glowering down at me.

I noticed that she didn't have any bags of money on her. I looked at the door to the vault and saw that it was now closed, locked and secured. I walked over to the vault, examining for any tampers while Red Arrow and Cheshire conversed.

My cheek was still stinging slightly, but I ignored it, and traced my hand over to cool metal of it. It didn't look like anything was broken in. If anything, Cheshire probably just typed in a simple code rather than blast or break it off like most villains.

When I turned my attention back to the two older ones in the room, I saw that Cheshire had disappeared and Red Arrow had a slightly ticked look on his face.

I walked to where my gun laid on the ground and placed it back in my holster, along with the other gun that was still in my hands.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked, looking at the archer over my shoulder.

"No," he retorted, before looking away. He then said, "Shouldn't you be heading back to Gotham soon? It's already midnight."

"Relax," I waved off. "I'm not Cinderella or anything. But are you fine with me leaving right now?"

"Of course," Red Arrow nodded his head. "I'll talk to you later?"

"Well, duh."

**GOTHAM CITY  
****OCTOBER 3, 2010  
****00:15 EDT**

I watched from the shadows quietly as Robin swiftly knocked out the gangsters, before landing on the ground smoothly. He wiped off what little dirt he had gotten on his hands off before looking straight at where I was, despite my being hidden.

"You totally ditched me," he informed, a sour look on his face. His bottom lip jutted out cutely and I resisted the urge to squeal and hug him.

I paused.

Whoa there, Verena.

"I know," I chose to say instead, stepping out of the darkness. "I'm sorry." I looked at him with the best apologetic look I had. "Can I make it up to you somehow?"

He grinned at me. "Sleep with me tonight."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Do you _know_ how perverted that sounds?"

I watched in amusement as his cheeks began to redden and he looked away. "I-" he stated, but it sounded like he _croaked_ it out. "I didn't mean it like _that_." I laughed and he continued to attempt to hush me. "Stop it, Fal!"

"No!" I gasped out through the midst of my laughter. "Th-this is fun!"

"You wanna hear sexual innuendos? I am a teenaged male, which means that my hormones are skyrocketing every day! I've got a _bunch_!"

His threat only made me laugh harder and I began to walk away, and my partner did nothing but protest as he followed me out of the dark alley way and into the empty streets. Well, who'd actually _want_ to be out at _midnight_ in _Crime Alley_?

"Fal!" Robin whined.

Jeez. He's more of a girl than I am sometimes.

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

A girl around Robin's age stepped through and Zatara gestured to us. "Zatanna, this is the Team. Team, my daughter, Zatanna."

I walked behind, next to Wally, and he looked at me. "Don't worry about it, he still likes you best."

He sighed, looking at me on his screen. _"I give you comfort and love and solution and this is what you do to me?"_

"_Can we get going now?"_ Robin asked, slightly irritable.

"No need to be so violent, Roy," I frowned.

**Chapter 16: Zatanna**

* * *

**A/N:** Review, review, review, guys! Since this is the 15th chapter, can we make fifteen reviews? I'll guarantee an update next week if we can get there! ;) Oh. Did anyone else watch the new Young Justice and bawl their eyes out? UGH. HOW COULD THEY DO THIS TO US?! D: Anyways, review guys! I love ya'll!


	16. Zatanna

**A/N:** I ask for 15... you guys gave me **22** holy shit. Here's the next chapter like I promised. :) But first! Reviews!

**Kelly1432:** LOLOL. Thank you! XD And yes, the long awaited Zatanna-chapter! And yes, sadly, she does. I honestly don't like her that much. I'm fine with her comic counterpart though...  
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**dreamer:** Ugh. If Fal doesn't kill her, I will, slowly... in my mind. :|  
**piggythelaw:** Pray to the Lord Zatanna doesn't screw everything over for our favorite couple. :3  
**Guest:** LOL. Seems like everyone wants to see Zatanna.  
**monzepelmoon:** Hahah! Find out! :)  
**Guest #2:** Thank you! And LOL! There _is_ a bit of Red Arrow in this chapter, actually! :)  
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**Takashi981:** Wow! Thanks so much! Welcome aboard, new fan! I hope you enjoy the rest of this series! Also, check out this story's companion fic, _**The Robin and The Falcon**_. :) It's updated almost daily. :3  
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**dracula-key:** It's alright. And I don't know myself. I'm just the writer. LOL. You wanna go back and count? xD I'm also glad you went back and reviewed chapter 14! LOL. You didn't have to, but thank you! :D  
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Now, onto the show (story... Whatever)~!

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****OCTOBER ****1****0, 2010  
****16:58 EDT****  
**

Conner grabbed me roughly, and was about to slam me to the ground until I punched his knees, making him buckle and lose his balance. Taking advantage of this distraction, I wrapped my legs around his neck and pulled him, landing on top of him.

"Good work, everyone," Black Canary commented, and I relaxed my grip on the Kryptonian. "In fact, it's been a very productive week."

I helped Conner up, and he smiled at me in thanks while Artemis made a comment.

"Hey!" Wally retorted. "Arm broken in combat against the _Injustice League_ here!"

Black Canary shook her head before chuckling. "I really enjoyed being your… uh… den mother this week."

"_Recognized: Zatara: One-One."_

I blinked, seeing the magician enter the Cave before he gave clearance to another entry.

"_Access Granted: Zatanna Zatara: A-Zero-Three. Authorization: Zatara: One-One."_

"Who's that?" Conner asked me, and I shrugged in response.

A girl around Robin's age stepped through and Zatara gestured to us. "Zatanna, this is the Team. Team, my daughter, Zatanna."

M'gann went to greet her, "Hi, I'm–"

"Robin!" the Boy Wonder exclaimed enthusiastically before clearing his throat. "I mean, _I'm_ Robin. She's Megan. That's Wally, Artemis, Kaldur, Conner, and Black Falcon."

"Welcome to the Cave," Kaldur greeted and I smiled, nodding in agreement.

Zatanna looked a bit wary, but smiled. "Thanks."

Robin quickly turned back to her and I narrowed my eyes. He never paid that much attention to girls besides Barbara and I. "So, are y-y-y-y-you joining the Team?" I frowned. Now stuttering?

Since when did Robin _stutter_? He hardly ever stuttered. I could count the number of times I've seen him stutter. And most of the time it was because I teased him or left him speechless with my awesomeness.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Zatara commented. "This is strictly a visit. Though I _am_ sorry we missed the training. It's something from which Zatanna could benefit."

"_Do the rest of you still get the feeling that we're still on probation with Zatara?"_ M'gann asked through a link.

I crossed my arms. _"It's not just Zatara."_

Conner nodded. _"Yeah, why's Marvel still hangin' around?"_

Wally looked at Conner incredulously. _"Because we _like _having him around."_

Artemis turned to Wally, placing her arms on her hips. _"_You_ like having him around 'cause he waits on you hand and foot."_

Wally looked confused. _"And your point is…?" _I shook my head, smiling softly.

"_It almost makes one nostalgic for Red Tornado's term here as our supervisor,"_ Kaldur commented.

Robin mentally scoffed. _"Yeah. At least he trusts us."_

Conner glared at all of us. _"If you ignore the fact that we shouldn't have trusted _him_! He betrayed us! That machine nearly got M– all of us _killed_!"_

I placed an arm over Conner's chest, blocking him from taking a step forward. _"Calm down, Conner. Something must've happened to Red Tornado's functions for him to act like that."_

"_You almost died _twice_,"_ Conner looked at me pointedly.

Zatanna stepped up then and I turned to her. "Are you guys having a psychic conversation? …Cause I can't decide if that's cool or… really rude."

I crossed my arms as a silence fell through the Cave. Conner was the first to break it. "Alright, fine. We were talking about Tornado. It's been weeks since his attack and the League hasn't told us _anything_."

Black Canary looked at us sympathetically. "The League is searching for Tornado as well as the other androids _and_ their creator, T.O. Morrow. Batman's made tracking them down our highest priority."

Robin stepped up. "But you found none of the above."

"Not _yet_," Black Canary corrected. "But Tornado is Justice League. The Team is _not_ to pursue this."

"Why don't you take Zatanna on a tour… of… the… uh… Cave…" Zatara suggested, but then trailed off when Zatanna wasn't standing behind us anymore. I had already noticed that she had walked off to Wolf, and was now petting him. Few things escape you when you work with Batman.

"That's a good idea," I mused, looking at the others. I quirked an eyebrow at Robin, who understood what I was saying. Let's hope the others did too.

"You're taking a tour?" Captain Marvel asked, coming in with a plate of dishes.

"Actually," Conner said when I pointedly looked at him. "I was hoping you'd take Wolf outside. He needs the exercise. We'll join you in a few!"

"Sure, sure!" Captain Marvel exclaimed happily. "I can do that! C'mon, Wolf!" the superhero exclaimed before flying off with the canine and Wally's nachos.

"Wh-bu-bla-uh, my nachos!" Wally exclaimed, but I just grabbed the back of his shirt and dragged him.

We were passing the kitchen, and I looked at the ceiling. "Our non-verbal communication's getting really good." I threw my arms behind my head.

Robin chuckled, wrapping an arm around my waist. "I know, right? Pretty soon, we won't even need psychic links." I grinned in agreement and then a flash of black caught my eye.

Robin quickly let me go and I frowned, stopping in my pace as I saw Robin stutter at Zatanna. I walked behind, next to Wally, and he looked at me. "Don't worry about it, he still likes you best."

I peered up at Wally and pursed my lips. "I have no idea what you're talking about." I waved off dismissively.

Wally chuckled before leaning in to whisper, "Babe, you like him." I flushed and I realized that I stopped hearing the Team's footsteps.

"What are you two talking about back there?" Artemis asked suspiciously.

I looked at the rest of the Team. Kaldur was impassive, and M'gann just looked curious, Conner knew what we were talking about, so he was just expressionless, Zatanna just looked questioningly, and Robin had narrowed eyes. I narrowed them back.

'_What?'_ I asked him challengingly.

He returned the look. _'What were you and Wally talking about?'_

I flushed and leaned back, no longer looking challengingly at him. _'None of your business.'_ I turned my head away.

We headed to the hangar and I climbed aboard my jet, taking place in it comfortably while the others went into the Bio-Ship. M'gann and I linked up our ships so I could see in a corner to see how everyone was in the Bio-Ship.

It was pretty full, with Aqualad sitting in front of Superboy on the right side of the ship, Artemis and Zatanna in the front, and Robin in front of Kid Flash on the left. Miss Martian, of course, was piloting.

As we soared through the airs, I got an incoming transmission from the Cave. _"M'gann, Falcon, your ships weren't authorized to leave the Cave."_

"_We're kidnapping Zatanna!"_ Miss Martian said freely and I had to shake my head at her carefree nature.

"To show her Happy Harbor," I added to confirm her thoughts.

"…_Rrrroger that,"_ Black Canary said, but I could hear the doubt in her voice. _"Have fun."_

"So where are we going?" I asked after Black Canary disconnected her transmission.

"_Batman's the World's Greatest Detective. And he searched for Tornado and T.O. Morrow in every logical location,"_ Robin started.

I mused at him. "So we need an _il_logical solution. Like, a really _stupid _idea…" I trailed off so I could look at the speedster.

The speedster looked around the Bio-Ship, and I saw that everyone was looking at him as well. He sighed, looking at me on his screen. _"I give you comfort and love and solution and this is what you do to me?" _I just quirked an eyebrow and he grinned. _"As a matter of fact… why don't we just go visit Professor Ivo in Belle Reve?"_

I steered my jet around, heading to Louisiana, where Belle Reve Parish was. I looked down at my navigation and saw the Bio-Ship right behind me.

**BELLE REVE  
****OCTOBER 10, 2010  
****18:35 CDT****  
**

I leaned over the desk, staring down at Ivo as intimidatingly as I could. I narrowed my eyes; something I learned from Batman, and he looked at me warily.

He looked at me. "What do you _brats_ want?"

"We want T.O. Morrow's location," I said, pushing further into the desk. I felt Superboy and Miss Martian come from behind me and flank my sides. "Strange owes us for stopping the prison break a while ago. So he's given us five minutes with you. So _spill_."

"Spill, Ivo!" Superboy ordered impatiently. "How do we find T.O. Morrow and his Reds?!"

"Now why in the world would _I_ know how to find _Morrow_?" Ivo asked, leaning back in his seat. His facial expression didn't slack as he continued to glare at me.

Kid Flashed stepped up and began to explain his logic: Ivo was Morrow's biggest rival.

"Ah," Ivo answered calmly, looking at Kid Flash. "I see your point. So let me rephrase: Why in the world would _I_ tell _you_ where Morrow is?"

"He knows," Aqualad said, walking forward.

I roughly grabbed Ivo, pulling him to his feet and so he was leaning across the table. "You'll tell us _now_," I ordered. I could feel him shiver and was glad Batman's intimidation lessons worked out.

"As if I'm scared of a little brat like you," Ivo spat in my face, his horrendous breath filling my nose. I narrowed my eyes and tossed him back in his seat roughly. I angrily wiped away the spit that landed on my face. I turned to Miss Martian. "Your turn."

I huffed and crossed my arms, taking my place next to Kid Flash. He placed a hand on my shoulder in comfort. "You'll get there someday. You're just a 4'7" 12-year-old blonde right now. Not that intimidating yet."

I looked up at the speedster. "You sure have a weird way of trying to comfort me."

Kid Flash shrugged in response, a quirky grin on his face.

I watched quietly as Miss Martian failed to go through Ivo's brain. Zatanna walked around to Ivo, before saying, "Trulb tuo S'worrom eurt noitacol!"

At once, Ivo fell into a trance before he confessed, "Morrow's in a secret underground beneath Yellowstone National Park, one hundred meters south of Old Faithful."

I looked at the two in shock and felt some movement behind me. Robin was standing on his toes, peering over Aqualad with an interested look. I frowned and left the room first, heading to my jet.

I let out a heavy sigh as I leaned back in the pilot's seat, suddenly feeling really tired. What was wrong with me? I feel _angry_. And… lonely? There's an emotion I haven't felt in a long time.

I heard a beeping sound and glanced down at my glove. I activated the holo-computer and a message sent to my phone appeared:

_Just got a strange feeling. You alright? – Roy_

A smile flittered onto my face and I typed a short reply:

_Yeah. On a mission now. Talk to you later. – Fal_

"_No texting on the job, Fal~"_ I heard a teasing voice ring. I looked up from my holo-computer to see the others in the Bio-Ship.

I rolled my eyes, even if they couldn't see it. "But that was Roy."

"_Ooh! Tell him I said hi!"_ Kid Flash said eagerly.

"_I as well,"_ Aqualad nodded kindly. I turned to look at Robin, wondering if he wanted to say anything as well, but he was just looking out the window.

I reopened my holo-computer and typed in a quick message:

_Kal and Wally say hi too by the way. – Fal_

Less than a second later, a messaged appeared:

_I say hey too. – Roy_

"He says hey," I gave the message to them.

"_Can we get going now?"_ Robin asked, slightly irritable.

"_What crawled up your tights?"_ Kid Flash muttered, sitting down in his seat. Robin simply glared at his best friend before typing in the coordinates.

We then soared off into the air, heading to Yellowstone National Park.

"_Block out all external communication,"_ Aqualad spoke up after the sun had fully set as we travelled. _"Soon Canary and Zatara… Batman too, I imagine, will know of our _visit_ with Professor Ivo. We haven't much time."_

"_Look,"_ I heard Robin say while I was flipping off my communication signals except for the one with the Bio-Ship. _"I'm trying to be all nonchalant here…"_

"_Why?"_ I focused my attention back to the skies as Zatanna's voice filled my jet. _"Be as chalant as you like."_

My eyes drifted from the darkened skies to the view of the Bio-Ship and I saw Robin smile softly at Zatanna. Wally grinned at me from behind Robin and I frowned deeply, stubbornly refocusing to the skies.

"_I think we're all just trying to get a handle on your powers,"_ I heard Artemis explain. _"Could you teleport us to Tornado or Morrow to a cell? Or force his bots to surrender?"_

"_Or create peace on Earth for all time?"_ Zatanna asked. _"Zatara couldn't even do all that. And I'm no way _near_ on my dad's level. I need to know a spell cold. Or have time to prep it. Plus, all magic requires energy which usually has to come from within. I just can't make the impossible happen at will."_

My fists clenched slightly around my controls. The impossible happen, huh? How far did magic go? Could they see the dead?

Could I see my mother one last time?

The last time I had seen her, she was rushing into my room, dressed in her Blackhawk uniform and ready for action. She hurriedly gave me orders, her blue eyes sharp and serious. Her blonde, wavy hair I had inherited was slightly messy from her rushed running. My mother. The first Lady Blackhawk.

"_Yo, Fal!"_ I heard faintly. _"Fal!"_

I snapped out of my thoughts. "Huh?" I looked around before turning to the screen. Kid Flash was looking at me curiously. "What?"

"_Dude, you totally zoned out on us!"_ Kid Flash exclaimed. _"What happened?"_

"Just… some thoughts." I didn't lie, technically. I just… gave the half-truth. I _was_ thinking. I scanned the faces of my teammates, and of everyone's, Robin's looked the most trouble.

He gave me a look that said, _'We'll talk about this later.'_

'_I don't want to,'_ I thought back.

His eyes narrowed. _'You're telling me.'_

I frowned. _'I don't wanna.'_

'_I'm gonna get it out of you eventually. I always do.'_

My frowned got deeper. It was true. He always did, somehow, someway. I let out a reluctant sigh. _'When we get back home then.'_

Robin gave me a smirk, which made my chest suddenly become lighter. _'I knew you'd see it my way.'_

"_What just happened?"_ I heard Zatanna ask.

"_Oh, get used to it,"_ Kid Flash waved off. _"They've got their weird connection with each other and can somehow understand what the other's thinking. You sorta get used to it after a while… Kinda."_

**YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK  
****OCTOBER 10, 2010  
****20:18 MDT****  
**

I stepped out of my jet silently, waiting in the trees for the others. A few seconds later, I heard a rustling sound and then Robin landed next to me.

"Tell me what's up," Robin said, looking at me seriously. "You were pretty deep in thought to now hear Superboy swear vengeance on Tornado."

"That's what happened?" I asked. Robin looked at me with a stern expression. I jutted out my bottom lip at him and I couldn't help but have shivers run down my spine when he encased his right arm around me.

On instinct, I leaned against him. His body heat melded with mine against the cool autumn air.

"I thought about my mom," I told him, not turning to look at him. I watched as Kid Flash, Artemis, Superboy, and Miss Martian gathered outside the Bio-Ship, below the tree we were in. "And the impossible. I thought about the last time I saw her."

Robin comfortingly squeezed my shoulder, and I took in his mint-pine scent, entangled with his own, unique scent.

Aqualad and Zatanna stepped out of the Bio-Ship and Zatanna began looking around for some odd reason. She then looked up to where we were standing, and suddenly, Robin was gone. I frowned when I kept myself steady to not fall out of the tree.

A second after I recovered fully, I leapt down from my branch, landing next to Kid Flash, who jumped.

"Jeez!" the redhead exclaimed, holding his good arm dramatically to his chest. "Don't _do_ that!"

I shrugged in response. I activated a map and quickly found our location. "We should get going," I said, looking at everyone but Robin directly. However, I peeked at him from the corner of my eyes and saw him frown when I didn't give him any acknowledgement.

"Lead the way," Aqualad ordered.

I deactivated my hologram and then whirled around, running through the many trees of the reserve. I felt Robin's presence a couple inches behind me before he fell in step with me.

I crouched down behind a log with Robin, and we observed his map. "Ivo's right. There's something down there," Robin reported.

We dashed off through the barren field, but then then I suddenly felt a powerful gush of wind. I braced myself tightly, but then I was pushed back. In the process, I knocked back Robin, and the both of us went flying.

Robin grabbed my arm as we soared through the air and pulled me to him. He flipped around and then landed roughly on the ground, with me on top of him. He let out a grunt of pain and I scrambled to my feet as best as I could, my hair whipping around crazily.

I looked to see what was causing the wind and saw Red Tornado, spinning above us. He released a plethora of red tornadoes, which surrounded us, blocking us from any means of escape.

"Why Tornado?!" Miss Martian yelled through the loud roaring of the wind. "Why are you doing this?!"

More tornadoes joined in, and I stepped back slightly when I lost my balance. I felt Miss Martian's voice in my head, but I was too busy trying not to get blown away.

I frowned. There was no point in me using _air bullets_ against a wind user like Tornado. All I had to rely on were my projectile weapons and my own hand-to-hand combat skills. Good enough.

"Falcon, look out!" I heard Artemis's voice call before I was hit by a tornado. I spun around in the red wind over and over, and I wanted to hurl.

I found myself flying through the air and something caught my eye. I read the message before I heard someone call, "Ylwols etativel Kcalb Noclaf ot eht dnuorg!"

I felt myself stop flying in the air, and something just caught me, slowly bringing me back to the ground. I looked at Zatanna, who was looking at me with a concentrated look on her face. I gave her a small thanks as I landed next to her before springing back into action.

I appeared next to Artemis and Robin and Artemis pulled out her arrows. She launched them and I waited for it to land on Tornado, formulating a plan in my head as best as I could.

However, I didn't plan on Tornado taking Artemis's arrows and launching them back right at us with double the speed.

"Look out!" Robin cried. He grabbed me tightly and swung his cape around us before we were blown away by the explosion.

I lay there limply, and heard a robotic voice, talking to Red Tornado. I couldn't hear through all of the debris, but I knew our cover was blown. I stood back up, just as a Red lifted up the ground below him, and smashed it, making the multiple rocks fly toward us.

I held my arms in front of me to protect myself, and I winced when a lone rock flew past the side of my head, cutting my cheek.

"_Zatanna?"_ I heard once the rocks had stopped falling.

"_I'm good, but Red Tornado's getting away!"_

"_Is he abandoning us?"_ Artemis asked.

"_I don't think he is,"_ I replied in my head from where I was.

I sprung into action. Now that Tornado was gone, I could attack with my guns. I jumped into the air, running off of a few rocks that had landed around the area unevenly. I launched myself into the air and whipped out two guns, hitting Robin's birdarangs to give them a faster momentum.

The Red caught his weapon, and it exploded, causing a large, dark cloud to appear. I landed on the ground and watched as the smoke cleared up, to reveal the Red completely spotless.

"Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move."

"Eoks emoceb a dlofdnilb!" Zatanna cried, and a blindfold appeared out of nowhere, surrounding the Red's eyes. "Tornado never knew my moves!"

"And I bet you've got some good ones!" Robin added, and I frowned, not bothering to turn around to look at them. I ignored the sharp tug I felt when he said that. "Whoa. Sorry. That may have come off a bit too Wally."

I heard Zatanna release a small laugh. "I don't mind."

'_But I do,'_ I thought quietly to myself. I froze. What was that? Now I was glad that our link was still down.

Laser beams appeared out of his eyes and I watched as the volcano behind him exploded, erupting and spilling lava everywhere.

A sharp tug in the back of my brain signaled that the link was back up. _"What's going on?"_ Miss Martian asked.

"_He's staging a stage two eruption,"_ I explained, running out of the way of the lava flow.

"_If it gets to stage three, kiss the hemisphere goodbye,"_ Kid Flash added.

"_Hit him from all sides!"_ Aqualad ordered.

I rushed forward, engaging in a quick hand-to-hand battle with Red Volcano before he grabbed me roughly and threw me off. I soared through the air, doing a quick backflip before sliding back onto the ground on my feet next to Artemis.

Kid Flash went to save Miss Martian, and then I watched as a stream of water hit Red Volcano dead-on.

"Nice hit!" Robin and I exclaimed at the same time, looking at Aqualad.

"The hit was not mine," Aqualad shook his head. He looked behind us and said, "Look!"

I turned around and saw the same Red that had attacked us last month at the Cave, with water rising up from behind him. He floated into the air and launched another wave of attack toward Volcano, who was now in the lava.

Steam exploded everywhere and a large piece of rock began to grow, but then it was decimated by Tornado, who had just arrived. I wiped the sweat off my brows and pulled at my tank to get some air.

I watched in amazement as the Red began to viciously attack Volcano, and then Tornado dived into the lava with them. I gaped, not knowing what to do.

Superboy however, did.

He ran forward and pulled Red Tornado out of the steaming lava before the android could completely disappear beneath the molten rocks. I saw the volcano begin to move and I looked at Kid Flash.

"KF!" I exclaimed, and that was all he needed.

"On it!" the speedster replied. "We're on the verge of a stage three eruption!"

I grabbed Robin and said, "Triangulate a route of pressure locus," while Kid Flash gave orders to Red Tornado. Robin activated a hologram and located the pressures quickly. "Artemis!" I looked at the archer. She nodded and launched her arrow without another word.

The mountain exploded and Red Tornado levitated into the air, absorbing all of the ash that was coming from the volcano. Slowly, the ash began to dissipate and then the lava began to rapidly cool.

"Yes!" Kid and I exclaimed, exchanging high fives.

I heard a familiar whirring sound and Red Tornado collapsed onto the ground. We all rushed over to him, and Superboy supported him easily.

"We need to get him fixed so his voice can be repaired," I said. "Tornado, can you lead us to the lab?"

**YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK  
****OCTOBER 10, 2010  
****21:08 MDT****  
**

I wiped yet another bead of sweat from my forehead, but this time, it was due to my hard work. "There. That should do it."

"Yes," Red Tornado's voice appeared. "I can speak again."

Aqualad stepped forward and looked down at the android. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself to save the planet."

"That planet would've survived," Red Tornado replied. "It was humanity that was saved. Though it was not me. My brother and sister were the true heroes today."

Aqualad placed a reassuring hand on the robot's shoulder. "My point is this: you were never the mole. Never a traitor."

"No," Red Tornado agreed. "I left you to prevent a further attack and to find my creator: Morrow."

I saw Robin smiling up at Zatanna, and I frowned. I pulled off my oil-laced gloves and tossed them into a nearby trash bin. I pulled out a spare pair I had hidden in one of the compartments of my utility belt and slipped them on before standing in the back of the room.

I half-listened as Superboy demanded why Tornado volunteered to be our den mother. A flitter of a smile crossed my face when I saw the Team came up with the idea that Tornado wanted to learn about emotions from us.

Speaking of emotions…

I looked at Zatanna quietly. If there was a word to describe her, it was beautiful. Tall. Long, silky raven hair and enchanting deep blue eyes. The complete opposite of me. I was short, standing only at 4'7. I had long hair too, but it was a bright blonde and my eyes were a bright green.

I knew I was cute. I'm positive about it. But I knew I wasn't on the same caliber as Bruce's women or Zatanna, despite Bruce and Dick's insistence.

I frowned before looking at the ground. Suddenly, the cemented ground didn't look so bad. Pretty sprinkles of different types of dirt.

"Hey Fal, wanna give us a hand?" Robin asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked up and saw Kid Flash and Robin working on repairing Tornado, while the others stood aside, not really sure what to do. After all, anything science and technology was our thing.

I pushed myself off the wall and walked past Robin, stopping next to Kid Flash. I took the blowtorch out of Kid's hand, since I didn't trust him with only one hand operating.

**YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK  
****OCTOBER 11, 2010  
****00:23 MDT****  
**

I let out a hefty yawn as I started up my jet. Once we got home, Batman's probably going to punish us by not allowing us to go on patrol tonight.

I can live with that.

I set my jet to Mach 1 and soared off into the night sky above the clouds.

"_So,"_ Robin's voice appeared and I instinctively glanced at the small screen. He was perched over, leaning forward against Zatanna's seat. He grinned. _"Good kidnapping?"_

Zatanna looked back and replied, _"Actually, yeah. Best ever."_

Robin let out a low chuckle. _"First of many, I hope."_

Zatanna looked slightly worried at that. _"If my dad doesn't ground me for life."_

A ringing caught all of our attention and I realized it was coming from me. I had turned back on outside communication. "That's me," I replied before answering. "Yeah?"

"_Dammit, Fal, I was about to go search you up! I've been trying to call you for the past two hours!"_ Roy's angry voice filled my jet.

"Oh…" I replied. "Whoops." I smiled sheepishly as I avoided a flock of nighthawks.

"_Don't you _whoops_, me. Black Canary called me and asked where you were. I told her you were on a mission because that's what you told me. You cut off all communications and I was sure as hell ready to drag your ass back and kick it!"_

"No need to be so violent, Roy," I frowned. "And so much language."

Roy let out a hefty sigh. _"… Sorry,"_ he apologized reluctantly. _"Where the hell were you anyway?"_

"In Yellowstone National Park rescuing Red Tornado," I responded, swerving in the air just because I could. "Is there something you needed? You _have_ been calling me for the past two hours."

"_Just wondered where you were,"_ Roy responded.

"Roy, I'm not a kid anymore," I replied. "I'm twelve years old; I can take care of myself."

"_I know that,"_ Roy huffed out, exasperated. _"But… nevermind."_

That piqued my interest. "What? Tell me," I said.

"_No."_

"Tell me~!"

"_No."_

"Please~?!"

"_No."_

"Party pooper. No cake for you."

"_I don't want cake anyway."_

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

"We are Earth's heroes now," Aqualad announced, as we watched the multiple screens of destruction around the world.

Robin looked at his holo-computer. _"There was no indication of feedback… I'm sorry…"_

"No!" Robin snapped. "We've already lost Artemis! I – _we_ can't lose you too!"

"_That's an order!"_ Robin interjected. He turned back his attention me. "Verena Natalie Blake, I–"

**Chapter 17: Nightmares**

* * *

**A/N:** Okay, so how'd you like this chapter? Be honest. :3 Review, review, review! Also, I have a question. My beta, **livstar235**, wants a little bonus chapter with **Roy's** point of view during this whole time. What do you guys think? If lots of you want it, I'll **definitely** write it. :3 Tell me and I'll post one! ;)


	17. Verena

**A/N:** I've been pretty lazy to get my notebook which I wrote the next chapter to _**The Robin and The** Falcon_ out so I figured people wouldn't complain if I updated _**Black Falcon** _instead. Here's Roy's Point of View during the Team's mission to track down Red Tornado! But first, onto reviews!

**FanGurl4Eva:** This isn't the official next chapter, but do enjoy this! :D  
**That dorky blonde:** Lol! I sure hope it lives up to your expectations! Tune in next week! :)  
**TohruOrihime:** Was that a bad thing? :c I couldn't help it because I had just finished watching _Batman: Under the Red Hood_.  
**ELECTRA13:** Thanksies~!  
**Takashi981:** Thank you! Well, here's Roy's point of view! :)  
**keller7586354726448:** I will, I will. Eventually. ;)  
**goddess of the nigth:** THANK YOU!  
**livstar235:**Lawls. Chill gurrrl. Here's the chapter. Not that you haven't read it already. xD  
**Mjmjmjmj:** Thank you! And sorry! No Lovebirds fluffy moment! But lots of Artillery! :o  
**ForgeandGred4Ever:** Errr... this isn't the official next one, but will this do? x3  
**Kelly1432:** Wow! Hahah! Well, did you wake up at 2 AM to read this too? ;)  
**Kamil the Awesome:** AWNHFESFKJD. DON'T MENTION WALLY'S DEATH. I'M STILL DISTRAUGHT. :C  
**dreamer:** Here it is! :D Oh... I don't think I'd ever make Verena nice to Zatanna... maybe civil... but... meh. Maybe.  
**piggythelaw:** Ugh. I hate Zatanna too. Don't worry about it. But only the Zatanna from Earth-16. I don't mind New Earth-Zatanna.  
**monzepelmoon:** Thank you! And I actually don't know myself. LOL.  
**Jujueyeballs:** I know. I'm such a bad person for using that line.  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** Hm... I will say that Roy DOES like Verena. And about her father? Sorry, but nope. All in due time, m'dear.  
**Redmissy100:** Conner ish awesomes. x3 And srsly. These Lovebirds need to get it together.  
**ywon54:** Lawls. His sass is awesome. xD  
**Stronger123:** Here you go! :D  
**ReadWriteLove715:** Awwww. Thank you so much! :)

Now onto the story!

* * *

**ROY HARPER**

**STAR CITY  
****OCTOBER 10, 2010  
****16:35 PDT****  
**

I sighed to myself as I laid on my large bed, staring up at the ceiling. I was back in my old room at Ollie's mansion, since we had, for the most part, made up a bit. We were still treading on _very_ thin ice, but with some convincing from Verena's side, I agreed to move back. Damn, it's hard saying no to her.

Speaking of which, it's been a while since we met up. It's been over a week since we met up.

A pit filled at the bottom of my stomach and it churned. Suddenly, I didn't feel so good. My mind immediately flashed to Verena, and I wondered if she was alright.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, unlocking it before going to my messages to send a text to her. She was pretty much the only person I texted when I was free… as pathetic as that sounds. Yeah. I'm almost eighteen years old and I text a twelve-year-old. But hey, she's cool.

_Just got a strange feeling. You alright? – Roy_

I sent it to her and a few seconds later, my phone vibrated from the new message.

_Yeah. On a mission now. Talk to you later. – Fal_

I frowned slightly, but understood. Being a superhero sucked sometimes, but hey, it was worth it in the end to know that you saved some people. I felt my phone vibrate again and unlocked it, seeing there was another message from her.

_Kal and Wally say hi too by the way. – Fal_

I typed in a quick response:

_I say hey too. – Roy_

I then placed my phone back on its place on my nightstand. She wasn't going to reply after that. I knew that because I never did after Verena gave me one last text. She probably would shut off her phone and then proceed her mission.

I rolled over onto my side, not sure what to do now. I was going to invite her out to do _something_, but obviously, she was busy, so I'll have to wait another day.

I stared at the wall a bit longer, before I felt my eyes start to get droopy. I'll just take a quick nap before getting some dinner later… I blinked heavily a few more times, before I let myself give in to the darkness.

What felt like a second later, I was pulled awake by the sound of my phone ringing shrilly, the sound echoing off of the bare walls. However, one look out the window showed that it was already night time, so a few hours must've passed. I checked the time and let out a low whistle. It was _nine_.

I grabbed my phone blindly, checking the caller ID. What was Dinah doing calling me?

"What is it, Dinah?" I asked. I cleared my throat slightly, since it was rough from my resting.

"_Roy, have you heard from Black Falcon?"_

"No," I responded, sitting up and rubbing the sleepiness out of my right eye. "She told me she was on a mission."

"… _That's a negative,"_ Dinah responded. _"Batman hasn't been at the Cave. Black Falcon's jet and the Bio-Ship have also turned off all communications and have disabled their tracking devices."_

I was suddenly more attentive. "_What_? No. Fal said they were on a mission."

"_And I'm saying they haven't been _given_ a mission. They've been gone for six hours already. A tour around Happy Harbor does _not_ take that long."_

I let out a frustrated sigh, running my hand through my slightly rough hair. Dammit, Ren. Sometimes, the kid was pretty troublesome.

"I'll try to contact her," I said, sighing heavily. "I'll call you if there's any news."

"_Alright. Thank you, Roy,"_ Dinah said before hanging up.

I frowned to myself, going to my contacts. I called another one of my closest friends, even though I only met him a couple weeks ago.

"_Dude, Roy, it's midnight,"_ Kyle answered after a few rings. His voice was completely sleepy and for a moment, I forgot that he wasn't like us.

"Sorry," I apologized, not really meaning it. Try being called up after finally getting a moment of rest after staying awake for seventy-two hours-plus. "Has Ren called you?"

"_The kid?"_ Kyle asked. _"Nah. Not since a couple nights ago. Why? Something up?"_

I shook my head. "No. No reason. Thanks."

"_Uh… sure… no prob. Hey, how 'bout you, me, and Ren hang out sometime?"_

I smirked. "That sounds nice. I'll talk to Ren about it."

"_Alright then. Night, Roy."_

"Later," I responded before hanging up. Well, she hasn't contacted Kyle. I made a mental note to ask Verena about hanging out with Kyle and I later… _after_ I lectured her about worrying me.

I decided to dial the troublesome girl herself. I held my phone up to my ear, letting it ring… and ring… and ring… and ring… and ring.

A growl escaped from the back of my throat and I resisted the urge to hurl my device to the wall. If I broke it now, then I couldn't get into contact with Verena at all, especially with her maintaining radio silence.

I climbed out of my bed, and began pacing, redialing her number. It was always the same result. Voicemail.

Godammit, Ren. Pick up your goddamn phone.

My pacing was beginning to wear me out, so I decided to head to my closet, and forced the door open so hard, I was sure it was going to break off the hinges.

I pressed the button that activated the secret compartment I had, when I decided to give it one last call. If she didn't pick up, I was going out to find her.

"_Yeah?"_ Verena picked up after the third ring.

"Dammit, Fal, I was about to go search you up!" I exploded in the phone, only barely remembering that she was on a so-called "mission". I glanced at the clock, noticing it was eleven. "I've been trying to call you for the past two hours!"

I began to pace again, and for the first time, I realized how cold the tiles of the floor was.

"_Oh…"_ Verena replied lamely. _"Whoops."_ I could just image the sheepish smile that appeared on her face. When it was sheepish, part of her pearly white teeth shined, and she sometimes scratched the back of her head.

I decided to give her a lecture. Screw Batman giving her one. I was going to do it. "Don't you _whoops_, me. Black Canary called me and asked where you were. I told her you were on a mission because that's what you told me. You cut off all communications and I was sure as hell ready to drag your ass back and kick it!"

Okay, it could've gone a bit nicer, Harper. No need to threaten violence. … Okay. It could've been a _lot_ nicer.

"_No need to be so violent, Roy,"_ I could practically hear the frown in her voice. _"And so much language."_

I let out a heavy sigh, running my free hand threw my disarrayed hair. Take a deep breath, Roy. You weren't trying to _piss_ her off. You were trying to make sure she was alright and safe.

"Sorry," I apologized eventually. "Where the hell were you anyway?" And this time, I wanted the truth.

"_In Yellowstone National Park rescuing Red Tornado,"_ she responded easily. _"Is there something you needed? You _have_ been calling me for the past two hours."_

I licked my lips. Should I tell her?

No.

"Just wondered where you were," I responded instead.

I heard Verena let out a soft sigh. It was high-pitched compared to my own. _"Roy, I'm not a kid anymore. I'm twelve years old; I can take care of myself."_

Twelve-year-olds are still in sixth/seventh grade, Ren. They were still pretty young. You sometimes forget that you're much more average than the regular.

"I know that," I sighed out again. "But…" _You could've been hurt_. _You worried me. You disappeared on me._ C'mon, Harper. Say one of those things. "Nevermind."

"_What?"_ Verena asked curiously. _"Tell me."_

I frowned. Just plant the seeds, why don't you, Harper. "No."

"_Tell me~!"_ I could just imagine the pout on her face. Her bottom lip jutted out with her eyes sparkling and threatening with tears, but not at the same time. It was a damn good thing I was here instead of with her.

"No."

"_Please~?!"_

"No," I repeated.

I could feel her resign and she was probably slumping in her seat. _"Party pooper. No cake for you."_

I grinned to myself. She didn't know that I actually didn't like sweets, since I always ate whatever she always offered me. Candy, cake… I hated it. They tasted absolutely disgusting. But when she was around, suddenly, they didn't taste so bad.

"I don't want cake anyway," I scoffed.

"_Hey, Roy. I'm actually flying back home right now. I'll talk to you later?"_

I hung up without a reply. I knew it ticked her off, but it was pretty hard to say bye to her. Might as well just hang up and wait for the next time.

I walked back to my bed and sat down, before lying down on it, with my feet still planted on the ground. I raised my hand that still had my phone over my head, and scanned for Dinah's number. Once I found it, I held it to my ear, waiting for it as it rang.

"_Hello?"_ Dinah answered after a couple rings.

"They should be on their way back," I said before hanging up. I didn't like having phone conversations. I had no doubt they were going to be lectured, and I wondered how long it would be before Verena was allowed out on patrol.

A ringing snapped my out of my thoughts and I answered it without checking the caller ID. "Yeah?"

"_Can I come over?"_ Verena asked in a ticked-off, yet meek voice.

I frowned. "Does Bruce mind?"

"_I don't know,"_ Verena muttered. _"I just need to get away from Dick. Can we go boxing?"_

I furrowed my brows, but nodded. "Sure. I know a 24-hour gym."

"_Thanks. I'll be over in five."_ Verena hung up without saying a goodbye. Which was pretty rare… when she wasn't out on the field.

I got up from my bed and grabbed some workout clothes, changing out of my t-shirt and jeans to a muscle shirt and sweatpants. I reached into one of my drawers and pulled out a pair of boxing gloves and some wraps for my hands, knowing I'd need them.

I tossed them in a sports bag, before heading downstairs after grabbing a plain black jacket. I spotted Oliver opening the door for Dinah, and looked at them shortly as they turned their attention to me.

"Where are you going?" Oliver asked curiously, seeing the sports bag slung over my shoulder.

"Boxing with Ren," I responded. "She needs to burn off some steam."

Dinah arched a brow. "Why would she need to do that? From what I've heard, it was a successful mission in retrieving Red Tornado."

I shrugged and left without another word. I texted Verena the address to the 24-hour gym and decided to head straight towards there with my red Audi convertible.

I parked smoothly in an empty spot and headed to the large double doors of the gym. I had a membership here and pulled out my wallet, showing it to the receptionist at the front just before the double doors slid open.

I turned my head, knowing it was Verena because I recognized the presence. She was wearing a large, baggy grey hoodie with a pair of black sweatpants. Her black sports bag was slung over her side and for once, she was just wearing a pair of sneakers as opposed to boots.

"C'mon, the boxing room's over here," I moved my head to a direction in the gym.

Verena pulled down her hoodie, letting her blonde hair cascade down her back. Her green eyes looked tired, but held a fire in them, which showed that she was pissed. Damn. What did Dick do?

I led her over to the boxing room and the scent of sweaty flesh greeted me, but it didn't phase me. Knowing Verena, it didn't phase her either. We've dealt with worse. Thankfully, the air-conditioned room lessened the musky scent a little bit and didn't fog up the entire room.

Verena dropped her sports bag with a large thump, and she bent down to unzip it. I watched quietly as she worked. She didn't look like it, but I knew she was armed and dangerous. Under those sweatpants, there were probably two guns strapped to her legs, since she couldn't really hide any other guns.

But since I knew she _always_ carried five guns on her, there were probably three in her bag in hidden compartments. She glanced at me and asked, "You gonna hit too?"

"I'll just watch a bit," I replied easily.

She nodded her head and wrapped her hands with gauze before pulling off her hoodie, revealing a midnight blue workout tank top. She slipped on her black gloves easily and I gestured to a heavy bag that was nearby. "Knock yourself out," I told her.

She gave me a flitter of a smile, and I was glad to have her smiling again, even if it was just a little bit.

She walked over to the heavy bag and punched it once lightly, testing it. It moved slightly, but not a lot. She punched it again, and it swung a little bit more. She did a jab-punch-jab on it, and it moved quite a bit.

She began to bounce on her toes, and punched a couple more times, before falling into a rhythm.

I watched as she moved, as light as a feather, hitting the punching bag consecutively without fail.

"Wanna share what happened today?" I asked, leaning against the wall near the punching bag. It was far enough to not get hit by the bag, but close enough to maintain a decent conversation with Verena without shouting.

"Dick is such a…. such a _dick_!" Verena cursed, punching the bag with more fervor. "Zatanna shows up and he follows her around like a fucking _puppy_!"

Did I mention she got pretty foul-mouthed when she was pissed? It comes with me being one of her best friends. Whoops. I guess I was a pretty bad influence sometimes.

"Zatanna is…?" I trailed off, hoping for clarification.

"Zatara's _oh-so wonderful_ daughter," Verena spat, punching some more. She actually punched so hard I winced. I'd hate to be Dick or Zatanna right now. "_Be as chalant as you like_," she growled out in a mocking tone. "I'll be as _chalant_ as I'll be with their _faces_."

She punched a couple more times, sweat dripping down the side of her face.

"Then he has the _audacity_ to accuse _me_ of being _unwelcoming_. And then he blows up at me about your phone call to me!" she exclaimed, punching the bag more.

I watched quietly, unable to respond as she continued to punch.

She was a force to be reckoned with. If anyone tried to stop her, she'd probably whirl around and punch them, knocking them unconscious in the process.

I've seen her do it to men thrice her height and weight. One swift punch from her with all her strength and she can knock them unconscious.

Despite her anger though, I knew that she was sad… in pain. Her feelings were hurt from whatever Dick had yelled her about.

The two were extremely close. I've never seen them fight before… not for real at least.

She continued to furiously punch the bag, and I couldn't help but notice that the bag was swinging a bit more and more. She let out a frustrated growl before punching once more, and the bag went flying.

I dodged the bag as it hurled towards me, right into the mirror, cracking it in the process before sliding to the ground, the sand inside it seeping out.

At the sounds of destruction, the rest of the boxers that were there stopped and stared. Verena panted heavily, sweat dripping down her face and her nose. The muscles in her arms rippled as she moved, staring at the ground.

Then she seemed to snap out of trance before looking at the destroyed punching bag to the other customers. Some workers came running in and they stared in astonishment at the destroyed bag and mirror.

"Um…" Verena said, panting slightly before licking her lips. "I'll pay for that."

She pulled off her gloves and went over to her sports bag, pulling out a small purse. She opened it and pulled out a wallet, taking out a business card. A man who looked like the manager approached her and she handed him the card. "Just send the bill here."

The man, still astonished, nodded dumbly as he took the card from Verena.

I smirked. She was awesome, I know. Verena turned back and stifled a yawn. Well… I guess we weren't going to get to spar each other.

I looked at the clock. It was already one… Wow. A whole hour? That meant it was four AM back in Gotham.

"Let's get outta here, kid," I commented, and Verena stifled another yawn. She nodded wearily and wiped some tears out of her eyes before throwing her gloves in her bag.

Before she could grab her sports bag, I swiped it from the ground, swinging it over my shoulder. "I'll carry it," I told her before she could protest. Without waiting for her to respond, I walked out of the gym. The fresh, cool summer night air hit me the second I stepped out of the double doors and Verena walked out a couple seconds later.

"I could carry it," she mumbled, tiredness evident completely in her voice. If anything, she looked ready to collapse any second. She leaned against me softly, and I led her over to where my car was.

Deciding to just drive directly into the Batcave, I drove to a Zeta-Beam that I knew was big enough for cars to enter.

"_Recognized: Black Falcon: B-Zero-Two. Red Arrow: B-Zero-Seven."_

I pulled to a stop and lowered my convertible top down, just as Dick came running towards my car. He looked at Verena, who had fallen asleep on the car ride here and then to me. His eyes narrowed slightly and I gave him a smirk, challenging him.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and walked around to the passenger seat, where Verena was still sleeping soundly. I unbuckled her before lifting her out of the seat.

"You take her bag," I told the younger boy.

Dick narrowed his eyes just as Bruce approached the both of us.

"I'll take her," the billionaire spoke, looking at the sleeping blonde. "Thanks for taking care of her."

"Anytime," I nodded, and it was the truth. I'd drop everything to help her if she needed it, and I knew she'd do the same.

Dick kept his eyes trained on Verena's sleeping form, and he frowned. Unlike Verena, I hardly ever knew what the Boy Wonder was thinking about, but I knew he was regretting whatever he had said to her.

Well, good.

He held something in his eyes, and because I held it as well, I knew why he was looking at Verena like that.

He loved her.

Sometimes, you unintentionally acted like a jerk to the person you loved the most.

I know that from personal experience.

No matter how much I pushed Verena away, she'd always just come back. It was useless to push her away.

I frowned to myself, realizing what I just realized.

I loved Verena.

Holy shit.

I looked at the sleeping girl in the dark haired man's arms, and saw a lock fall in front of her face. She was definitely going to be beautiful when she grew up… not that she wasn't already. Inside and out.

I turned away, unable to look at her any longer.

"Tell her Kyle wants to hang out with both me and her sometime when she wakes up," I said shortly before jumping into the driver's side of my convertible. Dick never got her bag; Alfred did.

I slammed on the gas and moved my car to drive, making my tires screech as I drove out of the Batcave as fast as I could.

I needed air.

I also needed Verena, but I knew that wasn't going to happen.

I squeezed my eyes shut briefly before I hit the streets of Star City, going through a Zeta-Beam. My tires squealed as I made a sudden turn, down the streets, and into the night.

* * *

**A/N:** So... what do you think? I feel so sorry for poor Roy. :c I love Artillery... but I'm a full supporter of Lovebirds. I honestly never intended for Roy/Verena to happen... it just did. So... yeah. And before I get any comments/questions/concerts about Roy being a pedophile, he's **not**. I've already discussed this in my other story, and pedophilia is a **sexual** attraction. Roy's attraction for Verena stems even further than that. He truly does have feelings for her.

Anyways, you guys are awesome! This story reached **21** reviews in less than **24 hours**! How cool is that?! At this rate, I'll be updating again next week too. ;) *hinthint*


	18. Nightmares

**A/N:** I have the bestest readers ever. :D Did you guys enjoy the double-update last weekend? ;)

**TohruOrihime:** Yay! :)**  
Guest:** I love Roy so much. It was never my intention for Roy to develop non-platonic feelings for Verena. It just happened.  
**FanGurl4Eva:** I love Lovebirds too! :3  
**Kamil the Awesome:** Yup. It's from _Batman: Under the Red Hood_. I had just finished the movie when I wrote it.  
**LunaEchoWillow:** Yay! Here's the next update! ;)  
**Haley:** Hm... I'm still pondering on what to do with Artillery... but this IS a Lovebirds story!  
**piggythelaw:** Lol. Yes. Don't piss Verena off. xD  
**That dorky blonde:** D'aww. You make me blush. /blushes.  
**dracula-key:** Noted. xD  
**ReadWriteLove715:** Thank you! And here's the next update. :)  
**Redmissy100:** I know. It's kind of funny seeing a twelve-year-old curse and stuff, but damn. She's a force to be reckoned with. xD  
**Kelly1432:** XDDD Thank you! x] I tried to light up the situation with that. ;)  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** Yay! And who knows? :3  
**Guest #2:** nrglikjerf THANK YOU. It's alright if you don't have an account. :) Just keep showing me some support and I'll continue to update! :D  
**Takashi981:** LOL. And honestly, I don't know what to do with Roy... so... I honestly don't know what's going to happen. xD  
**monzepelmoon:** Thank you! :3 Roy is so adorable. It's just a tough-guy act. x3 And agreed. Dick better get his ass into gear.  
**goddess of the nigth:** THANK YOU. And *spoilers* the fight/argument is in this chapter as a flashback. :3  
**dreamer:** Zatanna... eh. She a'ight. I don't HATE her, but I don't like her either. She's just... meh.  
**Stronger123:** Agreed. :)

Enjoy, guys~! :D

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****OCTOBER 16, 2010  
****16:01 EDT****  
**

I stood far from Robin, next to Superboy, watching as both Green Lanterns approached the unidentified space aircraft. John gave the owners of the ship a warning, but instead, they were vaporized.

I blinked and watched as Superman, Captain Marvel, Captain Atom, and Martian Manhunter were deployed, but before they could even attack, they were gone. Batman was able to escape from the beam the first time, but he wasn't so lucky the second time.

I turned my head and saw an incoming transmission, and Zatara appeared on the screen. _"Tornado, did you…"_

"Yes, Zatara. We saw." Red Tornado responded. "Celestial offences have failed. Initiate all terrestrial measures."

"_Affirmative. See you in a few."_ The magician's screen faded away, and Red Tornado turned to us.

"I must join the League. We will protect the planet at all costs. But should we fail, the responsibility falls to you," he informed us all.

I didn't budge in the slightest, and Aqualad took a good look at all seven of us. "We stand ready," our leader said determinedly. Red Tornado left us, and the seven of us exchanged looks.

"Let's tap into whatever newsfeed we can get," I said, stepping towards the computer. It didn't take me long to connect to GBS, which had Iris West-Allen reporting live from Central City.

The seven of us watched as the destruction continued on, and Iris and the cameraman were saved by Flash and Zatara respectively, but even then, they failed. After they left, I watched as it all turned to static and the anchorwoman was clearly distraught.

They took us to Taipei, but where Hawks, Green Arrow, and Black Canary were fighting. They too, however, were disintegrated. Cat Grant announced that we have lost most of our heroes. The only ones she didn't name were Wonder Woman and Red Tornado. Robin activated some more cameras, and we were watching Smallville live. Wonder Woman destroyed multiple spacecrafts, but was then disintegrated by the ray of light.

"_Red Tornado to Cave. I fear I am all that remains of the League."_

"RT!" Robin called, just before Red Tornado was gone. That was it. The League was gone.

"We are Earth's heroes now," Aqualad announced, as we watched the multiple screens of destruction around the world.

Superboy turned to Aqualad. "So what are we waiting for? A theme song?"

"A strategy," Aqualad replied calmly. "Earth's weapons are ineffective. And it has been made tragically clear a direction attack will not succeed."

I activated my holographic computer. "Tapping into satellite imagery," I announced. I activated the image, and a hologram of the world appeared in front of us. There were red spots marked all over. "That's where all the aliens are now."

"This one get lost?" Superboy asked, pointing towards the north. I cut down the globe in half so we could see the Artic more clearly.

"It's Superman's Fortress of Solitude!" Robin pointed out.

"Superman has a Fortress of Solitude?" Superboy questioned.

"That's what Robin just said," I commented, and Superboy turned to give me a glare. "Okay, okay, jeez. Just sayin'. Anyway, the power source must've attracted the aliens there. Or… at least for them to send one to investigate it."

"Must be some fortress," Superboy scoffed, turning to walk away.

"Conner," Miss Martian said softly, holding the Kryptonian back.

"No, it's okay. I guess there's a lot about Superman I'll never know," he commented bitterly.

"We will target this lone ship," Aqualad decided.

"Yeah!" Kid Flash agreed. "Break it down! Build more! Hit those _ugly aliens_ with their own mojo!" He punched his palm for emphasis. Artemis elbowed him. "_Ow_!"

"Martian and Kryptonian in the house," Artemis reprimanded.

Kid Flash looked at our resident aliens. "Uh… Heh. Not that _all_ aliens are ugly automatically." He gave a sheepish grin.

I rolled my eyes and said, "Since it's the artic, we're gonna have to change our clothes."

Aqualad nodded in agreement. "Change into your artic-stealth-tech, and rendezvous in the hangar in five minutes."

Five minutes later, we were all gathered in the hanger, dressed in different shades of blue and white. I climbed aboard my jet while the others entered the Bio-Ship.

"_So how are we doing this?"_ I asked after I felt a little tug in my head.

"_We __have Artemis and Miss Martian sneak up on the lone ship,"_ Aqualad said in my head. _"Miss Martian will disable the ship and Artemis will block the ray. I will attack from underwater, while Wolf and Superboy get the beam on the top. Robin and Black Falcon wi__ll scan the ship for information and should our plan to disarm the ship fail, Kid Flash will use his speed to draw distractions while we try again."_

"_Got it,"_ all of us mentally agreed.

I soared over the ocean in stealth mode, with the Bio-Ship behind me. As we flew in the air, I thought about what we were doing. The Justice League was gone, and it was up to us to save Earth.

I had to stay at the top of my game, even if Robin and I were arguing right now.

* * *

**GOTHAM CITY  
****OCTOBER 11, 2010  
****02:43 EDT****  
**

"What was that about?" Dick asked, peeling off his mask.

"What was what?" I replied, looking at him. I peeled off my mask as well as we got out of my jet.

Alfred was approaching us, but seeing as we were about to start a fight, he simply turned his heel and walked away from us.

"That stupid phone call!" Dick retorted, ripping off his gloves and throwing them into the dirty laundry.

"I was just calling him back," I replied, tossing my multiple guns on a counter. "How about _you_ explain what's up."

"What are you talking about?" Dick's fiery blue eyes looked down at me.

"Your reaction to _Zatanna_," I practically spat her name venomously. Don't get me wrong, she was great as a person. She just… I hate how she was with Dick.

"I was just welcoming her, something _you_ didn't do," Dick responded, minimizing his belt. He stripped off his shirt and tossed on a tank top that Alfred had laid out for him.

I unbuckled my holsters before climbing behind the changing area that was always set up for me. "I would've had you not so stupidly stuttered around her like an idiot. By the way, what was up with that? Since when did you ever stutter?!"

"I did _not_ stutter!" Dick called back to me. "I was just welcoming her."

"You _so_ did," I bit back, changing out of my Black Falcon uniform into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I took off my boots and stepped into my light blue fuzzy slippers before stepping out. "And I'm _sure_ you were _welcoming_ her. You followed her around like a lost puppy!"

Dick was already done changing, and his hands were shoved in his pockets. He was glaring at me, and I was almost taken aback by it. He _never_ looked at me like that. "For the record, if I'm the _lost puppy_, you must be a _damned disoriented bitch_."

It wasn't full of hate, but he was seriously mad at me.

Pushing back the pain I felt from the look, I returned it. "I'm calling Roy. Good night, Richard," I huffed and stomped up the stairs and out of the Batcave.

* * *

**FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE  
****OCTOBER 16, 2010  
****18:16 UTC-03****  
**

We landed a bit far away from the alien aircraft. All of us got out quietly, and I hid behind the glaciers with Kid Flash and Robin, waiting for our signal.

There was a loud crash and I watched as the lone ship's wing broke, making it off-balance and fall to the ice. Artemis shot out from behind an iceberg and launched at arrow at the center beam of it, making high-density polyurethane foam.

It began blasting the iceberg Artemis was hiding behind with its cannon, disintegrating parts of the iceberg. Aqualad launched upwards, cracking the ice and making the spaceship fall into the water. It was about to blast Aqualad to bits, but Wolf grabbed onto the cannon and redirected its attack.

Robin, Kid Flash, and I launched out of hiding areas and I landed on the spaceship. I activated the holo-computer. I pointed out the weakness points and Miss Martian destroyed them.

All of a sudden, Superboy was pushed away by Wolf, and Wolf disappeared. We all looked at the area Wolf was just at a few seconds ago. Robin looked at his holo-computer. _"There was no indication of feedback… I'm sorry…"_

Superboy looked sullen, but he answered, _"Can't do anything for him now."_ He climbed back onto the alien spaceship and began to pull on its cannon again. _"Let's go."_ The cannon finally detached itself and Miss Martian and Superboy began to connect it to the Bio-Ship.

"_I may need to de-camouflage for a few minutes,"_ Miss Martian explained in our heads.

"_We may not have a few minutes,"_ I pointed out, seeing three alien spaceships fly. I ran onto the ice, skidding across it easily. I pulled out my guns and launched multiple barrages of bullets at them.

The air did nothing to them and I jumped out of the way of a beam, hiding behind my jet. All of a sudden, the jet disappeared and I jumped out of the way of another beam. I tossed an explosive bullet into my gun and launched it; destroying a ship.

"_Fal, get out of there, _now_!"_ Robin's voice rang in my head.

"_Get to the Bio-Ship now!"_ Artemis ordered. _"I got you covered!"_

My eyes met with Artemis's for a brief second before I dashed, dodging the multiple hits towards me. I heard an explosion behind me as I passed Artemis, who had launched three exploding arrows.

I heard footsteps behind me and knew that Artemis was right behind me. I jumped into the air, landing in-between Kid Flash and Robin before I heard Miss Martian scream, _"Artemis, behind you!"_ I whirled around just in time to see Artemis get disintegrated by the beam.

"**Artemis**!" Miss Martian and I exclaimed, and all of a sudden, I wanted to puke. Badly.

I went to get her, but Robin grasped me tightly around my wrist. "Let me go, Robin!" I cried, struggling against him.

"No!" Robin snapped. "We've already lost Artemis! I – _we_ can't lose you too!"

"Get inside!" Aqualad exclaimed, jumping down in front of me. "_All of you_!" He launched a water attack on the lone alien spaceship and then launched it in the air. He created sharp glaciers and forced it on the spaceship, exploding it to bits.

"_They're dead_!" Kid Flash exclaimed venomously. "Every single alien! If it's the _last thing I do_!"

After Kid Flash's declaration, we all piled into the Bio-Ship. I frowned, sitting down in what was once Artemis's seat in front of the speedster.

"I'm sorry…" I said quietly as the Bio-Ship ascended. I looked down at the control panels, finding their designs very appealing all of a sudden.

"It wasn't your fault, Fal," Robin countered just as quietly.

"She did it to save me," I retorted. "If I had gotten my butt out of there sooner, Artemis wouldn't have had to cover for me."

Miss Martian choked out a sob and I buried my face in my arms. This feeling of overwhelming guilt was so unbearable. I was supposed to _protect_ my teammates. Not get them _killed_.

Kid Flash let out angry cries and I felt myself pulled out of my seat. He glared at me with deadly green eyes and I was taken aback by all the hatred in them.

"Why didn't you get her and yourself out of there _sooner_?!" Kid Flash demanded, pulling me up so I was level with his own face. Because he was much taller than me, I was carried above the ground, with my toes only brushing against the floor of the Bio-Ship slightly.

My bottom lip quivered uncontrollably as I choked out the only words I could form at this very moment. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Lay off of her!" Robin exclaimed suddenly, pushing himself out of his seat. "Artemis's death _wasn't_ her fault! _This_ comes with the job!"

Kid Flash snapped his head at Robin and then back at me. He took a few deep breaths and placed me back down on the ground. With a growl, he walked to where he was originally seated and sat back down.

"We will mourn later," Aqualad ordered firmly once it was quiet. I looked at Robin, but he merely turned back around and sat himself back down in his seat.

I decided to follow his example and sit back down.

"Now we have a job to do: defend the earth," Aqualad said, standing up. "And ensure that Artemis's sacrifice was not in vain."

"Back to the Cave?" Miss Martian asked.

"The Hall of Justice," Aqualad disagreed. "The human race must know that there are still heroes defending them."

I kept quiet to myself for the rest of the ride, choosing to just stay in my little bubble. Could this get any worse?

Robin and I were fighting. Artemis is dead.

My glove beeped and I looked at it, activating the hologram. It was a text message:

_Don't know what's up, but cheer up. We'll protect Earth together. I'll handle the West Coast. – Roy_

A faint smile appeared on my lips. I replied with a quick _Thanks_ before shutting off my hologram. I refocused myself and felt a gaze on me. I turned to see who it was and saw Robin. He was frowning slightly, and upon seeing me notice him, he turned away, glancing out the window.

By the time we got to Washington, D.C., the sun was already starting to set. I couldn't help but gape at all of the chaos that was going around.

Alien spaceships were everywhere, and the US military had deployed their tanks. Many soldiers were running shooting at the aircrafts, but the spaceships just destroyed them.

Miss Martian opened a hatch for Superboy to jump out of and he destroyed a spacecraft while the Bio-Ship handled the others.

We descended and were greeted by a group of cheering troops. I trailed behind everyone, choosing to stay in the background while Aqualad was approached by General Eiling.

We all walked into the Hall of Justice, and to my horror, the great bronze statues of the founding members of the League were completely destroyed. I looked at the fallen head of Batman, and walked over to it.

I traced my hand over the smooth surface. Despite the fact that I was wearing gloves, I could feel the coldness of it. I clenched my fists together and shut my eyes tightly.

"Fal?" a familiar voice asked me.

I hastily wiped away the tears that were threatening to escape. I whirled around and saw Kid Flash awkwardly holding his arm, looking everywhere but at me.

"Yeah?" I inquired, looking at the symbol on his chest.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier," Kid Flash sighed. "Y'know, about the whole lashing-out-on-you thing. It really isn't your fault."

"It's okay," I replied. And it really was. I knew Kid was just angry and needed to vent. I just happened to be his target.

"No, it's not," Kid Flash frowned. "I really shouldn't have blamed you. For that, I'm sorry."

I nodded, accepting his apology. Before I could say anything else, a rumbling sound interrupted me. I turned my head and saw Miss Martian lifting up a broken part of Martian Manhunter's statue.

To my surprise, the _real_ Martian Manhunter was under it. I quickly scanned the area with my eyes, looking for any signs of Batman.

"_It's really him!"_ I heard Miss Martian cry in joy. On the other hand, I deflated because I couldn't see any signs of Batman.

"But we saw you get disintegrated. You _and_ Superman! And everyone!"

Martian Manhunter groaned as his niece went to help him stand up. "Yes," he said. "I remember. But… I cannot remember how I survived. Or how I arrived here."

"Maybe you were density-shifting and the beam ran right through you," Miss Martian offered.

Highly doubtful, but it definitely wasn't impossible. Robin agreed as well, since he suggested, "Scrambling your brains along the way!"

"_Hello, Wally!"_ I saw Kid Flash give himself a facepalm. _"C'mon!"_ He grabbed my hand and in reflex, I grabbed Robin's.

The speedster dragged us out of the Hall and to where the Bio-Ship was parked. He told Robin to scan the laser beam and he did so.

"_I knew it!"_ the taller teenager exclaimed. _"The thing's giving off Zeta-Beams! This thing doesn't disintegrate! It _teleports_! Artemis is alive!"_ He enthusiastically grabbed us.

"_Maybe,"_ I suggested, _"but–"_

"_No maybes!"_ Kid Flash cut me off. _"They're alive!"_

Robin and I looked dubiously at each other, but nonetheless, we rolled with it. We couldn't talk to each other if the mind link was up.

I heard a _whoosh_ing sound and looked up. Oh God. A giant army of alien spaceships were heading toward us. Robin grabbed me, and dragged me down, helping me take cover from the explosions.

"_We've gotta retreat!"_ I cried. I carefully stood up and yelled as powerfully as I could, "Move back to the Hall! Everyone, _now_!"

Aqualad suggested we transfer the soldiers first, but General Eiling cut him off. Martian Manhunter nodded and walked over to the Zeta-Beam teleporter.

"Override: Martian Manhunter: Zero-Seven."

"_Recognized: Access Granted."_ All of us lined up for the Zeta-Beam and the Computer scanned us all before we entered. _"Miss Martian: B-Zero-Six. Robin: B-Zero-One. Black Falcon: B-Zero-Two."_

I walked into the Cave just as I heard _"Kid Flash: B-Zero-Four."_

"The aliens broke into the Hall!" Kid Flash reported.

"_Private, Jason Bard: USMC: A-Zero-Four. Superboy: B-Zero-Five."_

"Here," I said, going over to the marine. "Let me take you to the Med Bay."

"You take care of him," Robin ordered. I nodded my head and helped the man. I quickly patched up the man before putting him to sleep before rushing back to the Mission Room.

When I saw everyone but Aqualad there, I knew we had lost another. I frowned, but gathered with the others. There was a time for mourning, but now was not the time, even if we wanted to.

The others were gathered around an image of a strange, alien-like base-thing. Reading the charts, I saw that its location was in Smallville. Robin was trying to reason to Miss Martian about something, and as I got closer, I could hear that it was about Superboy being a distraction.

Robin turned to me and filled me in on the plan. Once he finished, I nodded my head. I swiped my hand in the air, and a holographic keyboard appeared in front of me. I hacked into all of the satellites, and I turned to the largest screen in front of me.

"To the people of the world, this is Black Falcon, Robin, Kid Flash, Superboy, and Miss Martian. We're here to tell you to _not lose hope_. We _will_ save this Earth together. Trust in us that we will save you. Place your hopes all onto us. I know that you know that the Justice League is gone, but _we are still here_."

I stepped aside and let Miss Martian take over, while I got ready. I cocked my guns, making sure they were ready. Once we were all prepared, we headed for Smallville on our bikes.

**SMALLVILLE  
****OCTOBER 16, 2010  
****23:15 EDT****  
**

I waited quietly in the trees for my signal. When Robin nodded at Conner, I climbed onto the clone's back. Superboy then took off with me, and we attacked.

I hastily pulled out two guns, locking them to its highest level. I saw the spaceships being deployed, and jumped down stealthily into a hatch hiding from the view of the spaceships.

I ran and hid behind some tubes before Kid Flash and Robin entered. I heard a crash behind us and knew that the Martians were there.

"_No,"_ I heard Miss Martian cry in despair. _"He's gone."_

Kid Flash, Robin, and I stopped in our tracks and backtracked to where Miss Martian was on the ground, crying.

Martian Manhunter confirmed what I had already known, and Kid Flash grabbed him angrily. _"No! She's alive!"_

"_She's gone,"_ I said once Robin pulled the speedster away. _"But we've still got a purpose: destroy the mother ship. We can still save Earth."_

We quickly found the main generator of the ship, and I was almost blinded by the sudden brightness. We hid quietly while Robin scanned it, detecting it as the power core.

We moved out quickly, and I was a few steps away from Robin as we jumped off a platform and onto another. However, Robin began to lose his balance, being pulled forward.

I jumped and launched myself at him, grabbing his gloved hand. I grasped his hand tightly, but we both went flying. Kid Flash at the last second grabbed my other hand, but it was no use. I quickly launched a grappling gun, magnetically holding onto a platform ledge to keep us from flying straight into the power core.

Thankfully, Miss Martian lowered us down gently and Robin placed the bombs on the power core. _"You knew,"_ Kid Flash accused. _"You both knew."_

"_Four minutes,"_ Robin ignored him. _"Let's move out."_

We all rushed back to the exit, but some robots had found us. I hid behind a large container of _something_ with Robin and I cocked my gun.

I moved to shoot, but Robin held out an arm in front of me. "Fal," he started. "No. _Verena_, listen." I gaped, looking at Robin. He was looking straight down at me, his eyes unwavering. He never called me by my name. "In case we don't make it, I have something to tell you."

I shook my head. "Don't say that," I told him. I didn't want to hear that. Not now. I wouldn't know what to do without him. I felt the incoming feeling of tears. I'm not stranger of it after today. "We'll make it out of here. Don't say that."

"No," Robin interjected. "We've only got two minutes left. We can't with all these robots."

"We–"

Robin grasped me tightly by the arms, pinning me to the steel container. "Stop it, Verena! Who are you kidding?! Now let me talk!" _"Manhunter, get Miss Martian out of here!"_

"_That's an order!"_ Robin interjected. He turned back his attention me. "Verena Natalie Blake, I–"

We were cut off by a serious of multiple explosions and all I could feel was hot, scorching _pain_.

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****OCTOBER 16, 2010  
****16:21 EDT****  
**

My eyes snapped open and I gasped for breath. What just happened? I looked around, seeing everyone else sit up from their concrete platforms and tried to comprehend what had just happened.

"What happened?" Batman asked, looking at Martian Manhunter, who was slowly getting up.

"The exercise all went wrong," the older Martian said, and I was thoroughly confused.

"Exercise?" Robin asked.

"Try to remember," Batman told us. "What you experienced was a _training_ exercise. Manhunter linked the seven of you within an artificial reality. You all knew this going in. What you didn't know was it was a trained-for-failure exercise. No matter what the Team accomplished, the scenario was designed to grow worse. Still, you were aware _nothing_ was real. Including the deaths of the entire Justice League."

That's why I didn't feel anything when Batman died. I clenched my fists tightly; sweat trickling down the sides of my face. I listened to the two senior members of the League explained how Miss Martian forgot it was an exercise when Artemis died, making us all forget as well.

I sat there silently, not knowing what to do.

The Justice League died.

Batman died.

The Team died.

Robin died.

… _I_ died…

My body began to quiver involuntarily and a choked gasp escaped from me. I slapped my hand over my face to block out the noise, but it was too late.

They had heard me, and I could feel their eyes. Tears flowed uncontrollably from my eyes, down my cheeks and onto my clothes. Wh-what was all this?

I felt a presence next to me and I was engulfed in darkness, but it was a comfortable darkness. I clung onto Batman's cape like it was my lifeline. Right now, it probably was my lifeline.

I never felt more like a child than I did at this very moment. With everything I've gone through, this was the worse and horrible feeling I've ever felt yet.

I felt the cloth of Batman's suit dampen with my tears that had slipped out from under my sunglasses and only held him tighter. "Daddy…" I whimpered out.

I felt arms wrap around me, holding me tightly. Protectively. Comfortingly. My sobs began to slow as Batman waited patiently for me to slowly calm my emotions down.

When I was down to my last few sniffles, I reached under my sunglasses and wiped away the wet tear trails. Batman stepped away and I felt a smaller pair of arms wrap around me caringly.

I took comfort in Robin's presence, despite our ongoing conflict right now, and leaned into him for comfort.

"Take her home. You're all dismissed for the day," Batman said stoically, not a tone out of place.

Robin helped me off the platform I had lain on and then led me to the Zeta-tubes.

"_Recognized: Robin: B-Zero-One. Black Falcon: B-Zero-Two."_

I felt myself transported and the familiar dim lights of the Batcave greeted me before being turned on. I threw off my sunglasses, carelessly throwing them to the ground.

"Dick…" I said quietly, walking up the stairs.

"Hm?" he asked, an arm wrapped around me as we walked side-by-side for the first time in a couple of weeks.

"Stay with me?"

I felt Dick give me a soft peck on the side of my head as we entered one of the many hallways of Wayne Manor. "Of course," he responded.

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

"Rough?" I scoffed. "We haven't talked to each other in _days_ unless we have to. It's not going to affect our performance on the field, if that's what you're worried about."

"Verena, have you ever thought of Robin in a non-platonic way?"

Dick looked at me with his dark blue eyes, not wavering one bit. "We need to talk."

My jaw dropped. "Wh-what? You're stupid, Richard. Just get out of here." I pointed at my door. "And stay out."

When I arched a brow at him, he asked, "Could I… kiss you again?"

**Chapter 18: Confessions**

* * *

**A/N:** OMG, guys! This story's SOOOOO close to 200 reviews! Think we can make it?! :3


	19. Her Confessions

**A/N:** Before we start, Olivia and I would like to apologize. LOL. Friday, Olivia's shift for Saturday was moved up so she had to go to bed early to get ready for her workday. Yesterday, I was out with my friends eating sushi before we invaded the mall, B&N, and Party City for about seven hours. I still wonder why we weren't kicked out. Anyways, here's the long-awaited **confession chapter**. By the way, you guys are **totally** awesome! As of me posting this, we're at **228** reviews! :)

**Kamil the Awesome:** Thank you. And I know. :c I rewatched all the episodes of Young Justice and TOTALLY caught so many hints to Wally's death. :c  
**That dorky blonde:** Awwwww. Thank you so much! :)  
**LovelyThorn:** I AM SO THANKFUL THAT MY STORY WAS ABLE TO MOVE YOU TO TEARS. AWRGNFVLMIFJK.  
**keller75863548274483:** Read and find out! ;)  
**ELECTRA13:** Thank you! OMFG. You don't know how happy that makes me! :)  
**Takashi981:** Wow! You're amazing! :)  
**Jujueyeballs:** I love meh som DaddyBats. :3  
**ReadWriteLove715:** Your review moved me to tears. Ugh. It makes me really proud of myself to know that my updating makes you feel better! I hope you feel better today! :)  
**Kelly1432:** Gurrrrrrrl. Tell me about it.  
**LunaEchoWillow:** Ahahaha. Your review actually made me laugh out loud. xD I don't like Zatanna much. :P  
**FanGurl4Eva:** Thank you! :) Here's the next one!  
**AnonOfTheAnonymous:** Yeahhhh. It just ends up happening. My bad. :c  
**Hestia28:** -drumrolls- FIND OUT YOURSELF. :3  
**goddess of the nigth:** I know! Bad Dick! :c  
**Stronger123:** Here you go! :)  
**piggythelaw:** Yes. Yes you were. :D *hands a cookie*  
**JJCME:** Thank you very much! :D  
**Guest:** Omfg. I'm sorry I made you cry, but it really makes me happy that you cried. (Does that make sense? o.O)  
**dreamer:** I wouldn't say they trust each other the least... It's just that they don't know each other that well...  
**ForgeandGred4Ever:** THANNNK YOU. :3  
**Redmissy100:** Well, gotta keep in mind that Fal's only twelve. That's equivalent to a sixth- or seventh-grader. :3  
**Sparklesnsarcasm:** Thank you! Ugh. I hate Failsafe too. It makes my feels go haywire. :c  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** Robin's a dick. No pun intended. LOL. xD But we all have to love him.  
**monzepelmoon:** Yes yes yes! :o  
**Raven:** LOL. Thanks! :)  
**dracula-key:** Wally will be Wally. xD  
**Guest #2:** Because I can! LOL. JK. :3  
**Forevermore21:** It's okay. I fangirl about Fal/Robin too. I get so frustrated when they're interrupted. Everyone at school always yells at me and goes, "BUT YOU'RE THE AUTHOR." :|  
**twixtastebloodyawesome:** I have updated!  
**Hyper-Blossom Z:** Oh gawsh. Here then, gurrrl. :3  
**ImagineDaydreams:** THANK YOU. And I don't like them fighting (for real), period. :c But it had to be done.  
**Lady Syndra:** I HAVE UPDATED. I HAVE UPDATED. I HAVE UPDATED.  
**Lucky Girl 81:** Thank you! :)

/wipes brow. _Phew_! That was a total of **33 reviews**! You guys are _**AH-MAY-ZING**_!

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****OCTOBER 23, 2010  
****19:52 EDT****  
**

Robin stepped into the living room, where we were all gathered. He looked at me and muttered, "It's your turn…"

I pushed myself off of the couch and nodded, walking past Robin without so much of a glance. I faintly heard him ask Batman if he could go home, before I turned into the Waterfall Room.

"Black Canary…" I said, taking a seat across from said heroine.

"It's Dinah," Black Canary smiled in an understanding way. I gave a small smile, and waited for her to continue. "Now, Falcon, I'm not even going to pretend to know how you feel. To lose your family and friends all at once. I can't even imagine it. You're probably hurting so much right now."

"Hurting?" I inquired. The pressure behind my eyes was tough to control, but I bore with it. "Try traumatized."

Black- _Dinah_, gave a small smile like she knew something I didn't. "I know there's some doctor-patient confidentiality, but I hope it helps to know that Robin said the same thing."

A small flitter of a smile appeared on my face. "Yeah… he and I do that sometimes."

"He and you are going through rough time," Dinah stated plainly, not even bothering to question it.

"Rough?" I scoffed. "We haven't talked to each other in _days_ unless we have to. It's not going to affect our performance on the field, if that's what you're worried about."

"I'm worried about _you_, Falcon."

"Verena," I said quietly.

"What was that?" Dinah inquired.

I looked up at her through my sunglasses. I took them off and said, "Call me Verena."

Another small smile appeared on her face. "Verena," she repeated. "Tell me everything that's bothering you."

I looked back down and played with my sunglasses that I still held. I pursed my lips together before saying. "I-I don't really know what to say, really. I guess it started when I ran into an old friend at the beginning of the month… and then we met Zatanna…"

I looked up from between my eyelashes to see Dinah nod. "Go on…" she encouraged.

"I don't really know," I repeated. "She's nice and all, and I think she's pretty cool… But…. Robin… I have no idea." I gave up, sighing heavily. "I don't like it when he's with her. It makes me feel…" I searched for the word, "uncomfortable."

"You've never felt this emotion before?"

"No." I shook my head. "It's ticking me off, actually. I kind of get nervous around him sometimes too, which is weird. Since when was _I_ nervous around _Robin_? He's practically my brother."

"I see…" Dinah said quietly. "This is also the first time experiencing this?"

I nodded my head. "We got into an argument the night we met Zatanna. He wouldn't stop going on about her." I clenched my fists together. "I don't know what happened… something in me just… _snapped_. I-I didn't mean for it to happen. I mean, I-I like Zatanna. She saved me."

"Verena, have you ever thought of Robin in a non-platonic way?"

I snapped my head up, looking at Dinah. "Wh-_What_?! I-I-I…" I trailed off. Why wasn't I denying it? Why was I actually considering it? Dick and me? I thought about our petty little arguments, him comforting me, my teasing him… "I don't know." I was majorly confused.

Dinah smiled at me. "You're on your way there. Now, tell me what happened during the simulation."

I gave her a total recap on the entire mission, and how I was neutral with it all, up until Artemis's death. "It just… hit me, all at once. The entire League was gone, and now we've lost a teammate," I explained. "Then Aqualad goes and Robin takes over."

"And how'd you feel about that?"

"I'm fighting with him, but like I said, we aren't going to let it get in the way," I replied confidently. "Batman taught us not to let our personal business get in the way of the mission."

Dinah nodded her approval. "So you both were cooperating without a problem."

"Yeah," I said. "So Superboy was sent as the distraction, which I knew killed Rob. He wasn't gonna make it alive, and we all knew that." I recounted the rest of the simulation to her, my fists getting tighter and tighter as I spoke. "And then I died and then woke up."

The pressure was getting to be too much. I couldn't stop in and felt the warm wetness slip down my cheeks. "I-it was all so real. S-so terrifying." I stuttered out. "I've already lost my mother and several close people to me before. Th-then I lose B-Batman, a-and Robin, a-and you all, a-and the rest of the t-team…"

I sniffed and I heard Dinah get up from where she sat and she pulled me up. She wrapped her arms around me, and I buried myself into her warm embrace, letting my emotions get to me.

She held me until I calmed down, waiting patiently. Once I was reduced to just slight sniffles, she released me. I wiped away the remainder of my tears and asked quietly, "Y-you're not going to tell Batman this, right?"

"Nothing leaves this room," Dinah comforted me.

"No." I shook my head. "I don't mean our talk… just me… well…" I trailed off.

Dinah nodded understandingly. "Go wash your face and take a drink of water to cool down, okay?" I slowly nodded my head and got up.

"Dinah…?" I inquired. She looked at me, waiting for me to go on. "Thanks for listening."

Dinah smiled and nodded her head. "Anytime."

I slipped back on my sunglasses and left the room. I sniffed quietly, trying to regain some of my breathing back. I almost bumped into Conner as I turned a corner.

"Sorry," I muttered.

Conner looked down at me, but I look away to avoid his gaze. "That's okay," he replied just as quietly. I walked around him and headed to the nearest restroom.

I quickly washed my face before looking in the mirror. My eyes were bloodshot and my cheeks were slightly flushed. I sighed and slipped back on my sunglasses. I wanted to go home.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Bruce's number. He picked up a ring later. "What is it?" he asked in his Batman voice.

"Can I go home?" I asked simply, getting straight to the point.

"Alright," Batman replied.

I nodded, even though he couldn't see. "Bye." I didn't wait for a reply and hung up. I left the bathroom, heading to the main room so I could Zeta Beam home.

"_Recognized: Black Falcon: B-Zero-Two."_

I stepped out of the Zeta Beam and into the Batcave. Alfred was there waiting for me. "Good evening, Miss Verena. Would you care for some dinner?"

"I'll pass tonight, Alfred," I smiled at him softly. "I'm tired. Dick home yet?"

Alfred nodded his head. "Master Dick is in his own room resting as well. Dinner will be placed in the fridge should you wish to eat later on."

"Thanks Alfred." I smiled. Alfred nodded and proceeded to walk away, no doubt continuing his duties as the butler. I trudged up the stairs and headed to where the bedrooms were.

I pushed open the door to my room and closed it. I kicked off my boots, falling onto my soft bed. I laid there for a couple of seconds, until I heard a knock on my door. Did Alfred need something else?

I lifted my head from the soft sheets and called, "Come in," before I rested my head again. I sat up and turned around while asking, "Something else you need Al-" It wasn't Alfred that was standing there, but Dick. "What is it?"

Dick looked at me with his dark blue eyes, not wavering one bit. "We need to talk."

"What are we doing right now?"

"Seriously, Verena," Dick said, not breaking eye contact with me. I broke it by turning to the side. I heard the door close and some light footsteps. I felt the bed dip slightly as he sat on the edge of it.

I fiddled with the blankets as I sat cross-legged on my bed. There was an awkward silence in the air, which was rather rare for us. Normally it'd be a comfortable silence. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"I think it's obvious," Dick replied. I felt his gaze on me and he said, "It's been almost a month, V. We've been at each other's throats for that long. We haven't spoken unless necessary for almost two weeks."

"Gee, I didn't notice." I rolled my eyes. "It's all because of _you_ being stupid."

Dick looked at me in disbelief. "_I'm_ being stupid? You're the one hanging out with _Roy_."

I glared at him. "I don't even get why you're so stiff with Roy these days! You meet him again after a few weeks and then you just treat him like he's your worst enemy!"

"He and I never 100% got along. We're just acquaintances," Dick scoffed.

"Bruce and Alfred like him," I commented. "Wally likes him. Hell, he's Kaldur's best friend! I don't see why you don't."

"Well good for them," Dick replied bluntly. "I'm not saying I _don't_ like Roy. I'm just not his biggest fan lately. He leaves us, turns down our invitation, is a total _jerk_ to you. He apologizes, but still. And you're complaining about _Zatanna_? What has she done? You're hurting her feelings, y'know."

I quirked an eyebrow. "And you would know, _how_?"

"She tells me when we hang out. What's your deal, anyway? She saved your butt."

"And I'm grateful for that. If it helps, you can go tell her that I think she's pretty cool the next time you two go on a date."

"I do _not_ go on dates with Zatanna."

"I wasn't born yesterday, Richard. When a guy and a girl hang out together and have feelings for one another, it's called a date."

"Wouldn't that apply for you and Roy?" Dick crossed his arms, looking at me challengingly.

"Don't turn this on me!" I snapped, getting onto my knees. "_You're_ the one flirting with Zatanna all the time. You know how annoying that is?"

Dick smirked at me. "Are you jealous, Verena?"

My jaw dropped. "Wh-what? You're stupid, Richard. Just get out of here." I pointed at my door. "And stay out."

Dick's smirk grew into a grin. "You're jealous."

"Wouldn't that apply for you too?" I retorted, using his own words against him.

I soon found myself pinned on my back with Dick hovering over me. He held my wrists down and his knees were placed on either side of my thighs.

"So what if I _was_ jealous?" he breathed out, looking down at me with an intensity I've never felt or seen before. "I still am, actually," he admitted. "Ever since the day after we fought the Injustice League, you've been spending all your free time with him. And even if you did hang out with me, it was always _Roy__ this_ and _Roy__ that_."

What was he trying to say? I tugged a bit to get my wrists free, but his grip was solid. I expected as much, but hey, it was worth a shot.

"Then Zatanna showed up, so I figured I'd hang out with her. Who knew it riled you up so much?" He gave me a cocky smirk, which only irritated me.

I snapped. "So what if I was jealous?! I still made time for you! _You_! Ever since you met her, whenever I asked you if you wanted to hang out, you'd go 'Sorry, I can't. I'm hanging out with Zatanna today.' What sorry?! You didn't even–"

His grip on my wrists got tighter, but I barely even noticed. My eyes were wide as saucers as I stared into Dick's closed eyelids. When he got no response from me, he pressed his lips harder against mine. When the shock wore off, I closed my eyes and returned the action**.**

He finally let go of my wrists and I was able to wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him down, closer to me. I felt the bed dip as he placed his hands on either side of my head to keep himself from crushing me.

When I started feeling slightly light-headed from the lack of oxygen, Dick pulled away. He backed up and sat on my bed before I sat up myself. I flushed when I realized just what happened.

"I meant what I said, V," Dick started, rubbing the back of his neck. "You've been spending a lot of time with Roy. We're thick as thieves. Well, I like to believe we still are." He paused and looked at me.

When I nodded my head, he continued, "So yeah, I've been jealous."

"Dick," I sighed, adjusting myself so my legs didn't fall asleep. "Roy's like an older brother to me. With the rift between him and Ollie now, he needs company. Besides, I think he might have a little something-something for someone else." An image of Cheshire flashed in my mind.

"I guess…" Dick muttered. "Hey," he said, calling for my attention, not that it was anywhere else. When I arched a brow at him, he asked, "Could I… kiss you again?"

I gave him a smile. "You don't have to ask from now on."

Dick gave me a grin, his blue-grey eyes holding something. He reached around me and grabbed my nape, pulling me closer. This time, I closed my eyes and was prepared to kiss him. Our lips met and I reached to grab his shoulders.

I scooted closer to Dick so I was able to place my arms around his neck so I was touching his hard back muscles. He pulled me closer to him and I sighed deeply, tilting my head a bit more to the right. I felt his lips curl up in a smile before he pretty much pulled me onto his lap, holding my nape with one hand and waist with his other.

There was a knock on my door and we pulled apart, glancing at the structure. "Verena?" I heard Bruce ask from the other side of the door. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah," I called, my voice cracking slightly. Dick raised an eyebrow and smirked mischievously at me. I glared at him and cleared my throat. "Come in."

The door opened quietly and Bruce's tall figure entered the room, still dressed as Batman. He observed us quietly for a few seconds before saying, "As Batman, all I have to say is as long as this doesn't jeopardize your work on the field."

Dick and I exchanged looks of non-surprise. This was the Batman we were dealing with. We both looked at him and nodded. He pulled off his cowl and Bruce smiled. "As Bruce Wayne, I'd say, well, it's about time."

He began to turn around and said, "I want the two of you to be down at the Batcave in five minutes, dressed for patrol." He closed the door behind him as he exited.

We sat in silence for a few seconds before Dick climbed off of the bed. He headed to the door, and I followed him with my eyes. He opened the door, turned to smile at me, before leaving my room.

I scrambled off of my bed, heading to my closet. I pulled back one of my shoes, and the secret compartment opened. I quickly changed into my Black Falcon uniform, pulling on my gloves and adjusting my mask so they were perfect.

I walked out of my room and headed to the grandfather clock that led to the Batcave. After I entered the mini-elevator, it took me down underground. The double doors opened and I saw Robin standing behind Batman's left, who was at the Batcomputer.

Once I was fully situated on the right behind Batman's chair, a map of Gotham City appeared, highlighting the city into three sections. I looked at the section highlighted in green. Looks like I was taking Downtown Gotham this time. Batman's section, highlighted in blue, was Central Gotham while Robin's, highlighted in red, was Northern Gotham.

"Got it," I nodded my head, understanding where my patrol area was. Batman got out of his seat and walked over to the Batmobile, where he climbed in. I hopped onto the Falcon Cycle, which was beside Robin's R-Cycle.

I threw on my helmet, starting up the engine. I followed the Batmobile until it made a turn and headed out to the exit that led to Central Gotham. I kept driving until my exit came. I gave Robin a two-finger salute and made a right turn, heading down the tunnel that led to Downtown Gotham.

I kept driving through the tunnel, with the only source of light behind my headlights. The walls opened in front of me and I drove out onto an alleyway. I shot out onto the almost-empty street and proceeded down the dark streets of Gotham.

It was ten o'clock, so most of the people were already at home with their families, if they had any. I never did like patrolling Downtown Gotham much. It was the slums and the crime was horrible here. It gave me a sense of sadness when I realized that not everyone was as lucky as Dick and me, who were adopted by Bruce after losing our families.

I loaded my guns with net bullets and as I drove by, I shot whenever I saw people were going to be attacked by someone. By the time I was done circling Downtown Gotham three times, it was probably one o'clock. Downtown Gotham meant patrolling the area multiple times, because people just never learn.

The streets were now empty of running cars, so I was able to navigate through easily. The screen of my bike flashed and I looked down at it. There was a break-in at Downtown Gotham Bank.

I deadpanned. I just passed that place a few minutes ago. I circled back quickly and headed over to where the bank was. I parked my bike in the empty parking lot and pulled out a gun.

I hid myself in the shadows and I heard a nasally voice call, "That's it boys. Load 'em up."

I pressed on my com-link to report quietly, "Penguin's in Downtown Gotham Bank."

"_Take precautionary actions, Black Falcon,"_ I heard Batman state. _"__If it proves too rough, wait for back-up. I'm heading there right now."_

"_Be there in a few minutes,"_ Robin said. _"Right after I beat this guy up."_

"Got it," I replied. I pulled out another gun and stepped out of the shadows. "Isn't it a bit late to be robbing banks, Penguin?"

The criminal whirled around, as did his two henchmen. I mentally dubbed them as Dumb and Dumber. Because honestly? One of them looked stupid and the other looked even more stupid, with their clueless faces. Did they _know_ how ridiculous they looked in their bird get-up?

"Black Falcon," Penguin acknowledged, eyes gleaming creepily. "Where's the Batman? And the other little bird?"

I shrugged. "Around town. I'm more than enough for you."

"Really? Let's just see about that," Penguin nasally retorted. "Get 'er, boys!"

I sprung out of the way as the two over-sized men ran towards me. I rolled on the floor roughly and shot twice at them with both guns. Apparently, the bird clothes weren't just a ridiculous get-up. My air bullets didn't look like they had any affect.

I adjusted the power of them by two levels, and shot again. They flinched, but otherwise, they were still fine. They charged at me again and I kicked the first one, who fell onto the other one. I threw in a ball of knock-out gas and shot it quickly as they got up.

They collapsed to the ground on top of each other and I caught Penguin glaring at me. His left hand had the sack of money while his other had his umbrella.

He pointed his umbrella towards me and a stream of fire shot out. I rolled out of the way, and the area I was once standing on turning a crisp black.

I adjusted my guns so they were a higher level and shot, but the fire stopped them. I ran across the floor, while reloading my guns with ice bullets. I pushed myself off of a desk and was in the air. I did a flip in mid-air to dodge Penguin's attack.

He let out a cry of anger as I kicked him to the ground. Before he could hit me with his umbrella, I stepped on his arm, making him cry in pain and release his umbrella. I shot at his wrists, pinning them to the ground with ice. I did the same with his ankles, securing him to the ground.

I heard the sound of wind whooshing and two familiar presences. A shadow loomed over me and I stepped off of Penguin, who spat at me. I side-stepped out of the way and kicked his side, making him groan in pain. "Don't spit on me," I snapped.

I looked up at Batman, who was assessing the scene. Robin let out a chuckle, seeing the scene. "Good work," Batman finally said, his eyes on me. "We're done for the night."

I switched my gun back to its basic level and placed them in my gun holsters at my thighs. I let a small smile appear on my face, feeling proud of myself. Robin gave me a grin as I approached him and we left the place.

I spotted the Batmobile and R-Cycle next to the Falcon Cycle, just before the loud sirens of police cars appear, lighting up the dimly lit parking lot. Commissioner Gordon got out of the car first and saw us, but the three of us walked past him without a word.

I swung my leg over Falcon Cycle, throwing on my helmet. I revved the engine and Robin did the same. Batman drove out of the parking lot first, and Robin and I shortly followed him.

It didn't take us long to be back in the Batcave. All of us came to a smooth stop at the center platform of the cave and I climbed off the bike.

I peeled off my mask and let out a sigh and Alfred went over to ask us if we needed anything. I shook my head, and so did Robin. Alfred nodded and walked over to Bruce, who took his place in front of the Batcomputer.

"You both can head to bed now," Bruce dismissed.

I nodded my head and headed to the changing area. I exchanged my uniform for an overly large t-shirt of Dick's and a pair of shorts that Alfred had left out for me.

When I stepped out, Dick was waiting patiently for me, loose grey pants on and a white muscle shirt, outlining his strong muscles. I gave him a smile, suddenly feeling shy.

He returned the smile with a happy one, and held out his hand. "Shall we?" I smiled, taking his hand and he led us up the stairs, back to where our bedrooms were located.

He stopped in front of my room and leaned forward, kissing my forehead. "Sweet dreams, V." He moved to pull away, but I refused to let him go.

He looked down at me curiously and I peered up at him through my eyelashes. "Can you stay with me tonight?" I asked quietly.

Dick gave me another peck on the forehead and he replied, "Of course."

He and I entered my room and climbed into my bed after we brushed our teeth. Yes. He had a toothbrush in my bathroom. I had one in his as well.

He held me close to him, and I snuggled into his chest. Before I dosed off, I leaned up, and he captured my lips with his softly. I scrunched his shirt together in my hands, my heart hammering in my chest.

I heard the steady, light beating of his heart, which became my lullaby. I began to blink softly, my eyes getting heavy.

I fell asleep shortly after, finally feeling whole again.

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

"Aw~ is the little Dickie Bird jealous~?" I teased, reaching up with my free hand and poking his cheek.

For God's sake, I was twelve. What did I know about love?

Before I could react, he leaned down, capturing my lips with his. We paused in our walk, simply standing in the middle of the sidewalk, kissing each other softly.

Dick gave me a wide grin, and nuzzled his face into my cheek softly. "Anything for you, V."

"This changes nothing," Kaldur defended, crossing his arms. "I have fought side-by-side with these people. _None_ are traitors."

**Chapter 19: Masks**

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**A/N:** This is a bit much, but my goal is **250 reviews**. Do you think we can do it~? Oh, also, if you have any questions and don't want to wait until the next update to have an answer, feel free to ask it on my ask page: **ask . fm / tracylay  
**There's also a link on my profile. :)


	20. His Confessions

**A/N:** GUYSSSSS I'm lazy... and tired. Excuse the lack of energy for these review responses. This Spring Break is no break. :|

**storygirl99210:** Thank you! And I know, right?  
**JJCME:** Thanksies! :)  
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**KarmaHope:** Awwww thank you. :3  
**Kelly1432:** I can't guarantee a lot of updates for this series, but keep an eye out for _**The Robin and The**_** _Falcon_**_._ ;)  
**Sarcasmnsparkles:** Lol. I'd sing the Hallelujah chorus as well if I didn't write this story. xD  
**twixtastebloodyawesome:** Hahah! Indeed!  
**SoNotYourAverageGirl:** YES. I KNOW RIGHT?  
**FanGurl4Eva:** Ugh. They're too adorable together. ;x  
**Lady Syndra: **Yes~ nrgfdjk. I need to get my ass back into writing. I'm so tired these days. :c  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** LOL! I'm still trying to figure out how the Team finds out (which will be revealed in **_The Robin and The Falcon_ **eventually).  
**Hestia28:** I think my eardrums just popped, gurrl. LOL. Just kidding. Fangirl all you want. x]  
**goddess of the nigth:** LOL. Yes. I love the idea of a man on top. ;)  
**Guest:** Aww! Thanks!  
**Guest #2:** Thank you! :o  
**Ailovec:** Awww, thank you to you and your friend! :) Have you checked out _**The Robin and The Falcon**_yet?  
**ReadWriteLove715:** *rubs ear* You got a nice set of lungs, girl. LOL. And hahah. I'm glad you liked that line. x]  
**dracula-key:** Oh? You counted? XD I didn't even know how many times they kissed. LOL. It isn't just gonna stop at just three though. ;)  
**Kamil the Awesome:** Well, you're awesome.  
**dark chocolate thunda:** Thank you! I'm trying to have as much fluff as possible before we continue the plot line! LOL.  
**ELECTRA13:** Yayyyyy. Hahah. I still need to write the next chapter. :| It's almost done...  
**Guest #3:** Aw! I'm glad you made my day! You guys all reviewing make my day! :)  
**Raven:** LOLOL. YOU SPAZ LIKE I DO.  
**ImagineDaydreams:** Oh dear. Hopefully, you don't scare them again. There's more fluff and tears in this. xD

Guys, let me just say how much I appreciate you guys. I'm just letting you guys know that there's ten more chapters planned for this story, and then it will be COMPLETED. **_BUT DON'__T WORRY_**_._ THERE WILL ACTUALLY BE **FIVE** MORE SEQUELS AND THEN **ONE** PREQUEL (basically how Verena met Dick/Bruce and became Black Falcon). So yeah, this is a **long-term** project (probably nearly five years worth), and I do hope I can finish it all, but only if I still have your guys' support. I'm glad that **we** made **over 250** reviews. You seriously don't know how ecstatic I am. And now, in the words of Verena, _allons-y_!

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****OCTOBER 23, 2010  
****18:51 EDT****  
**

**DICK GRAYSON**

I frowned as I sat on my seat in front of Black Canary. I looked at her wearily through my dark sunglasses as she opened her mouth to speak.

"Robin, I know you must be hurting, but–"

"Hurting?" I cut her off. I looked down at the ground, clenching my fists as I thought about the way Verena's hair blew as explosions erupted one after another. Her eyes widened in shock before fire surrounded us both. "Try traumatized."

My fists clenched tighter as I spoke, "I finally become leader and wind up sending all of my friends to their _deaths_. I-I know I did what I had too… but I hated it."

Honestly, who actually _liked_ putting their friends in danger and actually _risking the life_ of the girl you loved the most?

"When we started this team, I was _desperate_ to be in charge…" I frowned, loosening my knuckles ever the slightest. "But not anymore. A-and that's not even the worst of it…"

I placed my sweaty palms together.

I frowned. What would Bruce and Verena think about what was running through my head? "You can't tell Batman or Fal," I said.

"Nothing leaves this room," Black Canary assured me.

"I always… wanted… _expected_ t-to grow up a-and become him. And the hero bit? I'm still all in! But that thing? Inside of him?" Black Canary looked at me with so much sympathy… almost like she could feel the weight I carried on my shoulders. "The thing th-that _drives_ him to sacrifice _everything_ for the sake of his mission. Th-that's not me. … I don't wanna _be_ the Batman… anymore."

I frowned, looking down at the ground again. I caught sight of the whites of my shoes and shuffled them softly.

"I love being a hero," I spoke quietly, entangling my fingers with one another and clenching them together. "I really do. And I can't see myself giving it up… B-but… sometimes… I-I wonder what it was like… t-to be _normal_."

I clenched my hands together and saw my knuckles turning white.

"Where would Black Falcon and I _be_ i-if we were normal?" I voiced my question. "S-sometimes… I-I want a break from this life… T-to spend a day… Just the two of us… With no worries that we'd be called for an emergency and just… _together_."

"You have feelings for her," Black Canary stated.

I couldn't help but let the corner of my lips curl. I chuckled dryly. "It's obvious to everyone _but_ her, says Wally." My lips formed a frown again as I thought about the simulation. "I lost Batman… I lost Artemis… I lost Conner… I lost Wally…" I listed.

Black Canary waited for me as a silence filled the room, letting me collect my thoughts.

"But _nothing_… absolutely _nothing_ terrified me more than losing V…" I choked out, slipping out of my façade. I could feel the water behind my eyes gather as I resumed clenching my hands together.

I shook softly, as multiple images of Verena flashed through my head.

The day I first met her… offering her a ride to town…

Her first appearance as Black Falcon, helping Batman and me out…

The way her hair blew against the wind as she swung from building to building…

The way I seemed to hear bells whenever she tinkled with laughter…

The way I saw her interact with her mother…

The way she smiled, her pearly white teeth glistening against the light and her emerald orbs sparkling with sheer happiness…

The way she looked as the alien spacecraft blew up around us…

"I was going to tell her I love her," I said almost inaudibly. "Before the place blew up. I want to tell her."

"Then why don't you?" Black Canary inquired, crossing her legs. She looked at me with a thoughtful look. "Your relationship with Black Falcon is one of the best I've seen."

"Not as of recently," I scoffed. "I haven't talked to her unless it was for business for _days_. It was all my fault too."

Black Canary leaned forward, and I made eye contact with her through my tinted sunglasses. "Black Falcon's an understanding girl," she assured me. "Talk to her."

I nodded my head, before standing up. "Thanks for listening, Black Canary."

"Anytime," Black Canary nodded her head.

I stepped out of the Waterfall Room, heading into the lounge, where everyone was. I made eye contact with the blonde that filled my thoughts and muttered out, "It's your turn…"

I watched as she pushed herself off the couch, nodding her head. She stood up, and brushed past me, and I ignored the pang of hurt when she didn't even _look_ at me.

I pulled out my cell phone and pressed _2_ for speed-dial for Bruce. Of course, _1_ was Verena.

"_What is it, Robin?"_ Bruce's gruff voice answered.

"Think I could go home?" I asked, sighing heavily to let him know how tired I was.

"_You can,"_ Bruce responded. Then I heard a dial tone, signaling that he had hung up.

I slipped my phone back into my front pocket and walked to the Mission Room, heading directly to one of the Cave's Zeta-Beams. I programmed in my destination before entering it.

"_Recognized: Robin: B-Zero-One."_

The Batcave was as like it always was: dark and dreary. But somehow… despite the feeling, it was like coming home.

Alfred approached me and nodded. "Good evening, Master Dick. Would you like some dinner? I've just finished preparing it."

I gave the old butler a tired smile. 'Thanks, but no thanks, Alfie. I need some time to recuperate."

The butler's eyes softened and he nodded sympathetically. "Understood. Dinner shall be in the fridge should you choose to eat later."

I gave the butler another smile, this time one that I hoped was bigger, and stalked off to my room. I threw myself on the bed, before turning so I was on my back.

I stared at my ceiling for God-knows-how-long, choosing to just wait until Verena got home.

Probably an hour or so later, I heard the door to Verena's room open, and close shut quite loudly. She probably kicked it shut.

I gathered the courage I had, and pushed myself off the bed, heading across the hall to Verena's room. I knocked twice, imitating Alfred's knock.

"_Come in,"_ I heard Verena's faint, tired voice call.

When I opened the door, I saw her laying with her belly flat on her bed, her hair and legs fanned out because she was too tired to care. She looked up again when I fully opened the door and she asked, "Something else you need Al–"

Before she could say anything else, I held her gaze with my own. "We need to talk."

"What are we doing right now?" she replied like a smart-aleck.

"Seriously, Verena," I said, keeping eye contact with her. I had still yet to call her by my own personal nickname for her.

She broke the connection when she turned to the side, facing away from me. I closed the door and sat on the edge of her bed.

Verena then sat up, her hair coming together neatly behind her, and she fiddled with the blankets as she sat cross-legged on the furniture. An awkward silence, yes, _awkward_ silence, filled the room. Verena continued fiddling with the sheets a bit more before she asked, "What'd you want to talk about?"

I stared at the large TV screen across the room, but didn't really register it. "I think it's obvious," I replied. I turned my head so I looked at her. She avoided my gaze. "It's been almost a month, V. We've been at each other's throats for that long. We haven't spoken unless necessary for almost two weeks."

"Gee, I didn't notice." The sarcastic tone of her voice hurt me, and I could _hear_ her roll her eyes. "It's all because of _you_ being stupid."

I looked at her in disbelieve. "_I'm_ being stupid? You're the one hanging out with _Roy_." I spat his name like it was poison. I don't think I've ever resented a man like I have Roy. He wasn't a _bad guy_, persay, but I felt threatened by him.

Verena glared at me with a fervor, defending her friend. "I don't get why you're so stiff with Roy these days! You meet him again after a few weeks and then you just treat him like he's your worst enemy!"

That's a bit of an exaggeration, but I knew it was true. "He and I never 100% got along. We're just acquaintances," I scoffed. Okay, so Roy and I _were_ friends to an extent.

I'd give my life for him, but that wasn't saying much since I regularly gave my life for people I didn't even know. I'd save him with all of my might, that's for sure.

"Bruce and Alfred like him," Verena commented. "Wally likes him. Hell, he's Kaldur's best friend! I don't see why you don't."

Because he's taking you away from me, I wanted to say.

"Well good for them," I bluntly stated. "I'm not saying I _don't_ like Roy. I'm just not his biggest fan lately. He leaves us, turns down our invitation, is a total _jerk_ to you. He apologizes, but still. And you're complaining about _Zatanna_? What has she done? You're hurting her feelings, y'know."

Verena quirked an eyebrow at me, but instead of looking cute… well, she still looked cute, but besides that point, she just irritated me. "And you would know, _how_?"

"She tells me when we hang out. What's your deal, anyway? She saved your butt."

"And I'm grateful for that," Verena nodded in confirmation. "If it helps, you can go tell her I think she's pretty cool the next time you two go on a date." The hint of malice didn't escape me.

"I do _not_ go on dates with Zatanna," I retorted.

"I wasn't born yesterday, Richard," Verena narrowed her eyes at me. She looked like an angry puppy… not very intimidating, but if you made the wrong move, she'd attack. Really cute, honestly. "When a guy and a girl hang out together and have feelings for one another, it's called a date."

"Would that apply for you and Roy?" I crossed my arms, looking at her with a stern look.

Verena leapt onto her knees. "Don't turn this on me!" she snapped. "_You're_ the one flirting with Zatanna all the time. You know how annoying that is?"

An idea popped into my head and I smirked. "Are you jealous, Verena?"

Her jaw dropped in shock. "Wh-what?" she stuttered out. "You're stupid, Richard. Just get out of here." She pointed at the door, narrowing her eyes at me. "And stay out."

My heart fluttered as I recognized why she resented Zatanna. "You're jealous."

"Wouldn't that apply for you too?" she retorted, repeating my words from earlier.

I swiftly pinned her to the bed, holding her wrists down as I planted each of my knees on the outside of her thighs. It was now or never.

"So what if I _was_ jealous?" I sighed out, looking at her with all of the love and passion I could. "I still am, actually." I admitted, never once relaxing my grip. "Ever since the day after we fought the Injustice League, you've been spending all your free time with him. And even if you did hang out me, it was always _Roy this_ and _Roy that_." I made a horrible imitation of her voice.

She struggled, but I kept holding on tight. I wasn't going to let her go. I wasn't going to let her get away from me. I loved her so much it hurt me. I pushed back the fear I had of rejection and continued on.

"Then Zatanna showed up, so I figured I'd hang out with her. Who knew it riled you up so much?" I smirked at her, which only fueled her anger. God, she was hot when she was angry.

That seemed to be the little trigger, because she snapped at me. "So what if I was jealous?! I still made time for you! _You_! Ever since you met her, whenever I asked you if you wanted to hang out, you'd go 'Sorry, I can't. I'm hanging out with Zatanna today.' What sorry?! You don't even–"

I leaned down, interrupting her little tirade and slammed my lips against hers. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see whatever she was feeling. Was she shocked? Scared? … _Disgusted_?

Her lips just remained motionless, not doing anything, so I pushed harder against them. _Respond_, V. _Goddammit_. If you don't like me, push me away. Don't just lay there.

I felt her body relax slowly, before I relaxed my own grip. I moved my hands away from her wrists, planting them on each side of her head while her hands snaked around my neck, pulling me down, closer to her.

I pulled away as I felt myself running out of oxygen, and backed up, sitting on her bed. Verena sat up as well, her face an adorable shade of red.

I rubbed the back of my neck, the boldness suddenly gone. "I meant what I said, V." Her sheets were really clean… "You've been spending a lot of time with Roy. We're thick as thieves. Well, I like to believe we still are." I stopped and looked up at her.

She nodded her head, and I admitted, "So yeah, I've been jealous."

"Dick," Verena sighed. She shifted slightly but continued to look at me. "Roy's like an older brother to me. With the rift between him and Ollie now, he needs company. Besides, I think he might have a little something-something for someone else." Pft. If it was Cheshire, no. He still loves you, V.

"I guess…" I muttered, despite my reluctant thoughts. "Hey," I called. She arched a brow at me, waiting for me to continue. "Could I… kiss you again?"

She gave me a soft smile, which sent blood rushing to my brain, making me feel light-headed. "You don't have to ask from now on."

I gave her a bright smile, looking at her with smoldering eyes that I hoped showed my love for her. I reached around her, holding her soft nape, and fluttered my eyes shut, leaning down to kiss her again. Her lips were soft against mine and I felt her small hands reach up and hold my shoulders.

She scooted closer to me, throwing her arms around my neck, spreading her hands on my back. I pulled her closer and she exhaled deeply, tilting her head for me to kiss her more. I couldn't stop the stupid smile that spread onto my face, and practically pulled her onto my lap, cradling her neck and waist.

A knock snapped me out of the vanilla and sunlight dream-state that was Verena I was in and I turned to the door. "Verena?" I heard Bruce ask from the other side. "Are you in there?"

"Yeah," Verena called out, her voice slightly cracking at the end. I raised an eyebrow at her and gave her a grin, knowing that _I_ left her speechless. She glared at me before clearing her throat. "Come in."

The door opened and Bruce entered, still dressed as Batman from head to toe. He looked at us quietly for a few seconds before saying, "As Batman, all I have to say is as long as this doesn't jeopardize your work on the field."

I exchanged looks with Verena. I expected it. This _was_ Batman, after all. We turned back to him and nodded in unison. The older male reached up, pulling off his cowl and then smiled at us. "As Bruce Wayne, I'd say, well, it's about time."

He turned around so his back was to us and said, "I want the two of you to be down at the Batcave in five minutes, dressed for patrol." With that, he left the room, closing the door behind him.

A few seconds after Bruce left, I climbed off of Verena's bed. I walked over to the door, feeling Verena's eyes on me the whole time. I opened the door, and before I left, I gave her a smile.

I quickly got changed, feeling like I was high among the clouds. God, I felt like a girl, but I could care less. I _finally_ got the _girl of my dreams_.

I practically ran down to the Batcave, eager to see Verena again. I sat Batman already sitting in front of the Batcomputer and joined him, taking my spot on his left.

A few seconds after I arrived, Black Falcon came walking in. She stood at his right and then Batman turned up the map of Gotham City, highlighting our patrol routes. I got Central Gotham. Not bad, I suppose.

"Got it," Verena nodded.

We walked over to where our bikes were, keeping close together. I always yearned for her body heat, but since kissing her, I felt a compulsion to always be with her. God, I hope I didn't suffocate her.

I climbed over my R-Cycle, and placed on my helmet. I revved the engine while the Batmobile drove off, leaving us behind. I kicked up the stand and began driving, with Falcon by my side.

We headed down the tunnels together, side-by-side before Falcon's exit came. She gave me a two-finger salute before turning right, heading down the turn that led to Downtown Gotham while I kept headings traight.

The walls then opened in front of me a couple seconds after I parted from Falcon, and my bike soared in the air for a second before the wheels landed smoothly on the tar of the streets. I dodged an incoming car, heading down the streets.

I extracted a couple birdarangs, waiting until I spotted anything bad.

It didn't take long.

I soon saw three men surrounding a girl and I threw my birdarangs, pinning them to the wall with the nets that exploded from them. There wasn't much in Central Gotham… it was just… the middle. Downtown Gotham had more crime because that was where the ghettos were and North Gotham was prone to robberies because rich people lived there. Central Gotham was just in-between.

The screen of my bike flashed and I looked down. A break in at Downtown Gotham Bank. I made a turn to head there, but something caught my eye.

"_Help me!"_ a screechy voice called.

I revved my engine, placing it on auto-pilot before jumping off of it, tackling the assailant to the ground. We rolled on the ground and I punched the guy once.

"_Penguin's in Downtown Gotham Bank,"_ I heard Verena report from the com-link. I felt a presence behind me and turned just in time to see another guy head towards me.

"_Take precautionary actions, Black Falcon,"_ Batman said. _"If it proves too rough, wait for back-up. I'm heading there right now."_

"Be there in a few minutes," I added. "Right after I beat this guy up." I jumped out of the way, kicking the guy in the back of his head. He fell into the dirt and I tied them up. "You're alright now," I grinned at the girl that was on the ground.

I gave her a mock-salute and my bike stopped in front of me. I climbed onto it, turning off the auto-pilot. I revved the engine and drove quickly to Downtown Gotham Bank.

By the time I arrived, though, it looked like my help wasn't needed. I leaned against the wall, seeing goons on the ground in pain while Penguin was at Falcon's feet.

He spat at her, and she kicked him in the side, making him let out a groan of pain. "Don't spit on me," she snapped. Ooh. She's so cute when she's angry. I chuckled, seeing her be all feisty.

"Good work," Batman said, looking at Black Falcon. "We're done for the night."

Black Falcon walked over to me, and I grinned at her before going back to my R-Cycle, which I had parked next to the Falcon Cycle. We walked past Commissioner Gordon, who silently watched us leave.

I revved the engine again and followed Batman out of the parking lot with Black Falcon by my side. Hm. By my side. That didn't sound so bad…

When we arrived back at the Batcave, Batman made a beeline for the Batcomputer while Alfred approached us. I shook my head when he asked if I needed anything and went to change out of my uniform after Bruce dismissed us.

I changed into a pair of grey loose pants and a muscle shirt, and waited for Verena to finish changing. She stepped out, and she was, once again, wearing a t-shirt of mine and a pair of shorts. She looked, to say the least, _very_ attractive. I like her in my clothes.

She gave me a shy smile and I wanted to just grab and hug her tightly to me. Instead though, I just smiled at her and held out his hand. "Shall we?" I grinned.

She slipped her small hand in mine and I entwined our fingers together. I walked her back upstairs and led her to her room.

We stopped in front of her door, and I leaned forward, kissing her forehead softly. "Sweet dreams, V," I bade before going to pull away.

However, she stopped me.

I looked down at her, cocking an eyebrow and she looked up at me through her eyelashes and I resisted the teenage boy that ran through me. "Can you stay with me tonight?" she asked quietly.

I leaned down, pecking her on the forehead again. "Of course," I replied.

We entered her room and went to brush our teeth before climbing into her soft, large bed.

She immediately snuggled into me, and I pulled her close, keeping her near me. I never wanted to let her go. I felt her body slowly relaxed and leaned down, kissing her. She fisted my shirt and I hope she couldn't actually hear or feel how fast my heart was beating.

When we broke apart, she almost immediately fell asleep and I cradled her softly. I pecked her forehead one more time, before closing my eyes.

And for the first time, since my parents' death, I felt completely content and happy again.

* * *

**A/N:** I cried writing the scene where Dick's talking with Dinah... :c Then I squealed like hell when he's just thinking about Verena. I'm not gonna ask for a set amount, because honestly, you guys always go beyond my expectations anyway. ;) So I got a few questions about any other websites I can be found on, and I **do** have links to my Facebook, Tumblr, Ask, and Instagram on my profile. Feel free to add/follow/ask me! I swear, I'm super-nice. :) I don't bite... (unlessit'sDick'sbutt) Whut? I didn't say anything. :3


	21. Masks

**A/N:** So this chapter's a bit later than usual. I apologize. As I'm typing this, it's currently 9:43 PM on a Monday night and just fifteen minutes ago, I got home from SAT classes and just barely finished dinner. :| I need to do homework as soon as I'm done posting this, so I'm sorry for short, curt answers. D:

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**Enjoy, guys**~**!**

* * *

**GOTHAM CITY  
****OCTOBER 3****1****, 2010  
****14:02 EDT****  
**

I held onto Dick's hand lightly, walking through the semi-busy streets of Gotham.

I was dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans, a tank top, flaked on by a cardigan for the cool October weather. Dick donned on a pair of black jeans, a blue t-shirt (which brought out his eyes very nicely), and a black jacket.

I was wearing some ankle-high black Dior boots, which had inch-length heels, courtesy of one of Bruce's business associates, and Dick wore a pair of shiny black shoes.

We were heading to Gotham Central Park to hang out a bit, deciding to just bask in each other's presence, before we had to meet up with our friends.

I unconsciously leaned closer to Dick and then grasped his hand with my other hand, and we continued our trek in silence.

The day after we had gotten together, Roy, Kyle, Wally, and the two of us went out to meet them for some brunch. We had dropped the bomb on them and Roy choked on his coffee and while Kyle settled his friend down, Wally gave us a grin and a thumbs up.

The rest of the Team still doesn't know yet, but it wasn't like we were hiding it or anything. Batman just said to maintain an air of professionalism.

"There's a meeting tonight, huh?" I asked, looking around the large city. "I feel kind of guilty for doing this secret meeting without the others."

"It'll be fine," Dick waved off. "I'm pretty sure there's no mole on the Team, but Bruce just wants to make sure, y'know?"

I frowned, but nodded my head nonetheless. "Yeah… I guess. Ooh! I can see Roy tonight though! I haven't seen him in a while."

"V, you saw him last week."

"A while," I stated like it was obvious. I turned to look at Dick, and saw he was looking away, slightly pouting. A wide grin appeared on my face as a devious idea planted itself in my head. "Aw~ is the little Dickie Bird jealous~?" I teased, reaching up with my free hand and poking his cheek.

"No," he pouted, moving his cheek away.

"You are~" I sang teasingly. Gosh, he was so cute. It was one of the many things I lo- hold up, V. You're getting too ahead of yourself. It was one of the many things I _liked_ about him. Yeah.

For God's sake, I was twelve. What did I know about love?

But then I thought about our training exercise.

To lose everyone I cared about…

Would I really be able to forgive myself if I never truly said I loved Dick before it was too late?

I frowned and furrowed my eyebrows. One, I shouldn't be thinking about him dying. It was a _simulation_. _Designed to fail_.

"V?" I heard a faint voice call. It was eerily close at the same time though. "V!" A hand snapped in front of me, and I pulled back instinctively.

I almost lost my balance, falling back in shock. However, Dick kept a firm grip on my hand and steadied me. He looked at me with concern filling his blue-grey eyes. "You alright? I totally lost you right there."

"I was…" I tried to explain. How was I to say if I was wondering if I loved him? "I was just thinking…"

"Wanna share?" Dick asked, giving me a soft smile.

I gave him a weary one in return. "Not really. It's just a girl thing."

Dick nodded his head, and I was glad that he didn't press the issue. I was glad he didn't. I couldn't keep things from him very long.

Dick always read me like a book, and I loved that and hated that fact about him. I hardly ever kept secrets from him, because he'd always be able to tell what was wrong with me. He never pushed me, but I always felt guilty for hiding something from him, and I always blurted it out before I even realized it.

Likewise, he was unable to keep secrets from me as well, and would always admit whatever was on his mind whether I pushed or didn't push. It was always fun to tease him about some things I _knew_ embarrassed him.

… Like the time he told me about when he was a kid, he believed he could fly… And that's why he's my Dickie Bird.

It was a miracle I was able to keep the meeting with my father a secret from both Dick _and_ Bruce. … Well… Maybe Bruce knows, but he's just not saying anything.

"Don't hurt your pretty little head thinking too hard," Dick teased from beside me. I noticed the light concern in his eyes, but I knew that he knew that I'd tell him when I felt like it.

To reassure him, I stood on my tiptoes and gave him a swift peck on the cheek. I heard people say it was because of we were in our "honeymoon stage", which was why we were so affectionate. They said we were going to get tired of each other soon.

Really?

I couldn't imagine myself getting tired of spending time together with Dick. As cliché as it sounds, it feels like a dream come true, even though we've only been officially together for eight days.

I know I'm only twelve years old, but I could totally see my forever with Dick. I felt his hand squeeze mine softly, and I glanced up at him.

Before I could react, he leaned down, capturing my lips with his. We paused in our walk, simply standing in the middle of the sidewalk, kissing each other softly.

The sound of a camera shuttering brought us out of our little bubble, and as I turned, a flash blinded me. Instead of being mad, I wondered why they hadn't been taking pictures. Usually, they'd be snapping away.

"They were probably waiting for the money shot," Dick leaned down, whispering in my ear softly. "I say we give them another candid photo before leaving, yeah?"

Without even waiting for me to respond, he wrapped a free hand around my waist, pulling me flush against him. He captured his lips with me, effectively taking away all of the oxygen in my brain. Talk about _mind blown_.

Dick pulled back before I passed out from the lack of oxygen and he leaned his forehead on mine, grinning at me, his ocean blue eyes sparkling at me. "Left you speechless, didn't I?"

I flushed and whacked him once lightly before resuming our walk to Gotham Central Park.

Dick quickly caught up to me, and snaked an arm around my waist, his footsteps falling in harmony with mine.

We turned into the park, and he led us over to one of the quietest spots in the park, and I noticed a small box was placed under a tree that we usually sat under.

"Did someone forget something…?" I asked curiously, looking up at Dick.

He looked down at me with an amused look and nudged me forward. "Go on, V."

I blinked and walked closer to the box, which I noticed was tied intricately with a baby blue ribbon. Oh? When I got closer, I saw that it was moving as well.

What the…?

I grabbed hold of the ends of the ribbon and tugged lightly, undoing it in one swift motion. The ribbon fell apart in waves and I peeled back the lid.

Dark eyes gleamed up at me and a head cocked to the side.

"Oh my gosh," I cooed softly, seeing the little creature inside.

It began dooking at me as I reached inside, and I felt its sharp little teeth scrape my hands before a tongue darted out, wetting it.

"I never properly apologized for calling you… _that_ those couple weeks ago," Dick said, remorse fully in his voice. "I'm… I'm so sorry. It was really out of line and I know that giving this to you can never–"

I stopped him in his mini-apology speech as I tackled him down into the grass.

Dick's eyes comically widened and I rested the urge to laugh before I leaned down, connecting his lips with mine. I inhaled sharply, taking in his scent and I felt his arms snake around my waist, pulling me close to him.

I kissed him with all I could, cradling his cheeks in-between my hands. Dick smiled against my lips and pulled me down even closer to him so I was flushed against him.

We laid there for a few seconds, before the same dooking sounds from earlier snapped us out of our own little bubble.

I pulled back, and got off of Dick, and walked back to the box, kneeling in front of it.

The little ferret inside was wandering around the box curiously, circling around it over and over again. When it saw me again, it propped up, cocking its head to the side.

I looked at it, with its dark fur decorated with white and its face was covered in white fur, save for some dark fur that surrounded its eyes like it had a mask. It was so cute!

"It's a he," Dick told me, coming up behind me. He kneeled behind me, snaking his arms around my waist before resting his head on my shoulder. "He's eleven weeks old."

I reached in, picking up the little creature, and held him up in front of my face.

He looked back at me with beady black eyes, before his nose twitched. I grinned in response before looking at Dick. "Does he have a name?"

I held the ferret close to me, stroking him softly. He squirmed a bit in my arms for a few seconds before resting, getting used to my arms.

Dick shook his head. "Nope. Go right ahead and name him." He gave me a wide smile.

I pulled the ferret away from me, looking at him again. I made eye contact with him, and a name popped into my head. "Andrei," I spoke firmly, and the ferret let out another series of dooks.

I turned my head to face my boyfriend, and gave him a swift peck on the cheek. "Thank you, Dick. I love him."

Dick gave me a wide grin, and nuzzled his face into my cheek softly. "Anything for you, V."

My smile grew even wider, so much my cheeks were starting to hurt. Wasn't he the sweetest thing? And I wasn't talking about the ferret. I leaned against Dick, and gave him a soft kiss.

Dick returned it eagerly, holding my waist tighter. We kneeled there on the cool, green grass, simply kissing each other. I fisted the flaps of his black jacket, trying to get rid of my heart beating in overdrive.

I felt something squirm and paw at my chest, and pulled away from Dick's lips. I looked down, and the ferret was looking at me. I stared back, and it pawed my chest again.

I heard Dick lick his lips before smacking them together, trying to get his words out. "I never apologized for that huge argument we had…" he said quietly. His arms tightened around my waist, like I was the only lifeline he had.

"And I'm sorry for that. I just said them out of anger, but I know I can't take them away. What's done is done."

I held Andrei with one arm while the other snaked down to where his fingers were entwined over my stomach. I rubbed his knuckles soothingly and said, "I know. And it's okay. I shouldn't have said what I said either."

Dick's muscles visibly relaxed and I felt his grip loosen. "So we're good?"

I turned around so that Andrei was in-between our chests. He squirmed slightly before he found a comfortable position and relaxed himself over my shoulder. "We were never bad," I responded softly before kissing him.

He held me, cradling me before Andrei squirmed again.

Dick let out a sigh, pulling back and I watched the weasel struggle to escape. I let him go into the grass, and he dived for freedom, sniffing and scurrying around.

"There should be a couple mice here for him to snack on," Dick said, watching the ferret run off. "There's a tracker on his collar. But he likes you, so he'll come back."

"How do you know that for sure?" I asked, turning so my back was against his chest.

Dick kissed the top of my head. "Who doesn't like you is a question, V," he said softly. I smiled, leaning back into his chest and entangling our hands together in my lap.

After a few minutes of just basking, we stood up just as Andrei came back, a little bit of red around his mouth. He let out a series of dooks, coming towards us. He circled our feet before pawing at my boots, asking for attention.

I leaned down and picked him up. He dooked softly and rested his head on my shoulder. Dick pulled out a napkin from his jacket pocket and scrubbed the blood softly. "I texted Alfred to pick up the box. We should head to Manhattan now."

I nodded in agreement and adjusted Andrei so he was draped over my shoulders comfortably to sleep. Andrei let out a dook again before dozing off. He had officially dozed off before we even reached the Zeta-Beam that was nearby.

"_Recognized: Robin: B-Zero-One. Black Falcon: B-Zero-Two."_

We stepped through the broken phone booth and found ourselves in Manhattan. I walked around with a ferret over my shoulders, but not many people acknowledged it, for which I was grateful.

We made a beeline for Radu's Coffee Shop, and we entered. I asked for the manager first and asked if Andrei could stay with us. He was asleep and if he woke up, we'd pay for any damages he made. After a bit of reluctance, Radu allowed us.

We walked over to join Wally, Roy, and Kyle, who were sitting there.

"Just what is _that_?" Roy asked, looking at the furry animal across my shoulders while I took a seat beside Kyle, with Dick on my other side.

I blinked, looking up at the archer. "He's a ferret. Dick gave him to me. His name's Andrei."

The older redhead looked at Dick, "You couldn't have gotten her a dog?"

Dick shrugged from beside me, sitting in-between Wally and me. "She likes him. Besides, it's easier to let a ferret run around freely outside than walk a puppy and train it."

"I don't think a ferret's a present a regular guy would give his girlfriend," Kyle said, looking at the furry critter. "But then again, you two are anything but regular."

I ordered a cup of iced tea like always, since I didn't drink coffee while Dick ordered a flavored latte.

"It's about time you two got together," Wally scoffed before taking a sip of his own coffee. "I was worried I'd have to lock you two in a closet for half an hour."

"That wouldn't work," Roy commented. "Since they already spend all their time together anyway."

Wally frowned.

"Including a dark room alone," Kyle added. "With a bed."

"You're making us sound really bad, Kyle," I frowned. "I'm only twelve."

Kyle let out an impressed whistle. "Are you really that young?" He racked through his head for any memory of me telling him of my age, and then it hit him. "Damn. You really _are_ that young. It's kind of weird since you always hang out with us, I expect you to be closer to age. … Damn. I feel old."

"Roy's gonna be eighteen tomorrow," I piped.

"Dude, seriously?" Kyle turned to the male that was closest to him in age. "And you didn't care to share that?"

Roy shrugged. "It's not really a bit deal."

Kyle looked at Roy for a second before shrugged. "Any plans for Halloween?"

"I'm going to a party with some friends," Wally piped. "Dick and Ren were invited too, but they were too cool for us."

"That's not true," I frowned. "Bruce wanted to have a talk with us tonight."

"Huh, it must be weird for him to have both his kids going out… with each other…" Kyle blinked. "Wow. That's kind of weird, if you think about it."

Wally snorted. "Not if you've known these two for as long as I have."

"How do you two even know each other?" Kyle looked at the four of us. "Dick and Ren I understand 'cause they live together in Gotham, but Wally, you live in Central City and Roy lives in Star City."

The four of us quickly exchanged looks before Kyle could see.

"Wally's aunt is a reporter, so we met through her when Wally was visiting her when we were in Central City," I explained easily. "And Roy's adoptive father is Oliver Queen, who's a good friend of Bruce's."

Truth was, Wally met us when he was Kid Flash and Dick and I so happened to find out he was Wally West when we met up with Barry and Iris in real life. We also knew Speedy before knowing Roy Harper, but y'know, minor details.

Kyle looked at the four of us before nodding his head, accepting our answer.

I felt a bit bad for omitting the real answers, but… we had no choice. Maybe someday, we'd tell him, but it was a risky idea to tell him.

Any one of our enemies could go after him, and I couldn't bear to live with the fact of knowing one of my best friends, even though I've only known him for a short time, got hurt because of me.

I felt Dick squeeze my hand softly, which he had taken earlier and entwined our fingers together underneath the table. I looked at him and he gave me a look.

'_It's alright,'_ he comforted me with his eyes.

I squeezed his hand back gently in thanks. I leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Isn't that cute?" Wally teased, a grin on his face.

"You could be like one of those fangirls," I grinned. "What do they have…?"

Kyle furrowed his brows. "The insane ones with those… uh… _OTPs_, right?"

"Yeah!" I exclaimed. Andrei cooed softly and I gave a sheepish smile, patting the creature back to sleep. "_Exactly_."

"Did you just call me a _fangirl_?" the young redhead blanched at us.

"It was just a suggestion," Dick replied, sipping his coffee. "You should totally create a fanclub for us," he joked.

"You already have a fanclub at school," I rolled my eyes. "You don't need another one."

"I don't have one that's just for us," Dick flashed me a grin. "I want everything I'm involved in with you."

Wally frowned. "Okay, I get it. You guys are cute. Just don't overdo the PDA."

Roy snorted before drinking his coffee. "Doubtful," he commented, looking at the both of us. "They've been skirting around for years."

I furrowed my brows before I took a sip of my iced tea and we proceeded to chat about what was going on in our lives and any future plans we had together.

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****OCTOBER 31, 2010  
****20:15 EDT****  
**

"I think he's quite fitting for you," Aqualad piped in, looking at the creature. "May I see him?" he inquired, looking at the ferret.

"Sure!" I exclaimed, handing Andrei out to Aqualad.

The Atlantean took the animal with ease, and I was pleased to see that Andrei didn't act out. I knew that ferrets weren't so welcoming with strangers, but for some odd reason, this one didn't mind.

Andrei let out a series of dooks again, and sniffed Aqualad curiously. He dooked again before Aqualad returned the mammal to me. "He is… interesting…" Aqualad mused.

"I'll say," Robin snorted. "He actually _likes_ strangers."

I placed Andrei on the ground, and he scurried toward Red Arrow, pawing at the archer's leg. Red Arrow looked down, arching a brow at Andrei, who was quite eager, like Robin had said.

"Aw," I cooed. "He likes you, Roy."

I sat down on the armrest of the seat Robin was sitting on and placed my hand on my lap while Andrei rested on my shoulder. Robin reached forward and began to fiddle with my hands, before engulfing my left hand with his right.

The four of us walked into the Waterfall Room, with Robin and me leading the way.

Red Arrow was the last to walk in and he silently looked at Robin and me before standing a few ways ahead of us, in-between Batman and Red Tornado.

"Computer, secure the room," Batman ordered, and there was a small hissing noise as all the doors closed and locked themselves.

"_Secured,"_ the Computer reported.

"I'll cut to it," Batman said shortly. "Do we believe there's a mole within the Team?"

Aqualad stepped up and said, "I am convinced there is none. When Sportsmaster claimed he had an _inside source_, he was merely sewing descent."

Robin grinned, extracted his hand from mine, and said, "His intel could easily come by comparing notes with the other villains working for the 'Injustice League'." Robin gave little quotes when he mentioned the villainous team we took down recently.

"And think about it," I added, leaning back and propping my hand on the stand next to the seat to keep myself balanced, "if anyone on the Team _was_ working with them…"

"He or she would've betrayed us during our fight against them," Aqualad concluded.

Red Arrow looked at his best male friend. "I'm not convinced," he said sharply. "Sure you three and Kid Flash are above suspicion, but I _know_ Artemis isn't shooting straight. For starters, she's _not_ Green Arrow's niece." Of course he'd know.

"What?" Aqualad asked incredulously.

"Well yeah," Robin agreed. "In fact, she's related to–"

"Enough," Batman cut off his protégé, placing an arm on his shoulder. "Artemis's relations may indeed make her suspect, but she's still entitled to a secret identity."

I looked up at Batman and he glanced at me before turning to the older members in the room. "I'm more concerned about Superboy. We still know very little about what Cadmus programmed into their weapon. Conner could be the mole and not know it."

"And what about Miss Martian?" Red Arrow inquired, looking at Batman. "She _is_ Manhunter's niece. But he told Black Canary that he has a few _hundred_ nieces and nephews. And the first time he met M'gann was five months ago. When she stowed-away on his last trip from Mars to Earth." He ended with looking at me because I was the last one in the room during his scanning of the room.

"This changes nothing," Kaldur defended, crossing his arms. "I have fought side-by-side with these people. _None_ are traitors." I smiled softly to myself.

Despite this tense atmosphere, it was nice to know that Kaldur trusted all of us so whole-heartedly.

* * *

**A/N:** _Dooking_ is the actual sound ferrets make. You can look it up on YouTube. xD And oh my God, aren't those two so cute?! xO Anyway, you guys see that little box at the end of the page? You can type some things in there and press "Post Review". It makes me really happy. LOL. xD **Review, guys! :)**

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

I whirled around so quickly, I thought my neck was going to break off. "Where'd they go?"

I stared blankly at the letters before me: **ERROR – UNABLE TO LOCATE: BATMAN**

"They need comfort right now, Dick," I replied just as softly. "They're kids. They're scared. .. _I'm_ scared." I gripped Robin's jacket tighter, scared that he might disappear too.

"Sunshine, vanilla, and Verena."

"Well, you smell line pine, mint, and Dick."

**Chapter 22: The Lost Kids**


	22. The Lost Kids

**A/N:** First off, I'd like to say _**thank you so**_** _much_** for being INSANELY patient with me! Testing is FINALLY over! (Well, sorta. I still have finals. But whatever.) And I do have some great news! :) I took this In-Class Calculus AP Exam, and the teacher promised us she would DEFINITELY NOT fail us if we passed the test. So... guess who's passing Calculus? ;) But yeah. I'm back (sorta), but still a bit overwhelmed by last-minute things before school ends (which is June 19th THANK GOD).

Onto the reviews!

**dreamer:** LOLOL. Why thank you!  
**Stronger123:** Thanksies. :)  
**piggythelaw:** It was a spur-of-the-moment idea, and I didn't really think about a _dog_, so yeah. :3  
**keller75863548274483:** LOL. Kudos to you for remembering all those damned numbers. xD  
**Kamil the Awesome:** It's just to fill in some bubbles before Invasion. ._. 'Cause we all know how serious that is.  
**Hestia28:** LOL! Thank you! :) I call them _Lovebirds_ hahah.  
**dracula-key:** I think Dick already thought about all the shots and everything. xD And yeah, Batman and Robin _do_ know who Verena's father is. They just don't care.  
**KreativeGirl:** Never struck me that Verena would be a dog-person. LOL. Idk. But thank you! :)  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** No to the first. I'll wait to answer the second question. ;) Don't worry. All in due time.  
**storygirl99210:** Lol! Thank you! :)  
**Kelly1432:** I do too. xD And maybe. Hahah. He'll play a bigger role in future seasons. ;)  
**fischgirl:** Awwww. Nice! I've actually never had a "real" boyfriend, so... yeah... I'm _really_ inexperienced. No kissing/touching for/from me! :P And I'm seventeen.  
**Raven:** Lol! Thank you! And sorry it took a month! :(  
**That dorky blonde:** LOL. Which redhead? I fangirl over both. xD  
**ImagineDaydreams:** Nice. I can't say I've heard those songs before though. LOL.  
**monzepelmoon:** Lawls. Thank you! :)  
**Takashi981:** Totes, man. **:3**

**PS:** Did you guys notice the review count? YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME~~~~ Now on with the show!

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****NOVEMBER 5, 2010  
****19:47 EDT****  
**

I stood with my arms crossed next to Robin as we watched Conner and M'gann unload the Bio-Ship with groceries.

"Did you get everything?" Batman asked, looking at the two.

M'gann gave a smile, levitating two boxes. "Everything on your list, Batman… plus groceries." She turned to me and smiled. "We can try out this new recipe I saw later."

I returned the smile. "I'd like that."

I heard the elevator hiss and noticed the double doors open to reveal Artemis and Zatanna. They were saying something, but Robin was distracting me by fiddling with my fingers behind our backs.

"Stop it," I lightly scolded the boy, bumping my hips with his.

He chuckled lowly and replied, "But I love your fingers."

Wally, who was nearby, cracked us a grin. I rolled my eyes and walked to Batman. Before I could even open my mouth, he disappeared. My jaw dropped in shock and I heard crashing noises, but I could only stare at the blank area in front of me.

"Dad!" I heard Zatanna shriek.

I whirled around so quickly, I thought my neck was going to break off. "Where'd they go?"

Robin was already on it. He was tapping away on his cell phone, trying to find out what had happened. I pulled out my own cell phone as well, tapping into the Batcomputer to track down Batman.

I stared blankly at the letters before me: **ERROR – UNABLE TO LOCATE: BATMAN**

I whirled around and as I dashed off, I ordered, "Wally, do a quick run around town and find out what's happened!" I felt a gush of wind past me, and knew Wally was on it. I ran up the stairs, running down multiple hallways.

I could hear the others running after me and the second I entered the training platform, I swiped the air, summoning a keyboard.

"Black Falcon, Robin, what's happened?" Aqualad asked, crossing his arms and looking at us.

"Don't know," Robin shook his head. "But the Batcomputer couldn't find Batman."

"Find out what has happened," Aqualad ordered. "Superboy, Miss Martian, and Artemis, come with me."

"What about me?" I faintly heard Zatanna ask.

"You are not a part of the Team," Aqualad replied easily. "I am not in charge of what you do. However, we cannot place you in danger either."

"_Guys, you hear me?"_ I heard Wally ask.

"Loud and clear, Walls. What's happened?" I responded.

"_All the adults in Happy Harbor have disappeared. I decided to investigate further and found out _every adult_ in Rhode Island's gone missing. There's car wreckages _everywhere_. We're gonna need a lot of help."_

"Try calling Red Arrow," Robin suggested.

I nodded my head. "Red Arrow, can you hear me?" I asked. There was nothing but silence. "… Red?" Still nothing. Then I smacked my head. "He turned eighteen four days ago."

"Continue investigating what has happened," Aqualad told me. "It seems anyone over the age of eighteen has gone missing. The rest of you, come with me. These children need our help."

I pulled up another keyboard and tossed it to the side casually. "Zatanna, could you check out these forums while Robin and I scan the world?"

"Sure," Zatanna replied and I felt her footsteps.

I typed in a few keys and pulled up a call. "How's it goin' there, KF?"

"_We've set up a… a refugee center at the local high school gym. Any luck with–"_

"No," Robin cut off. "Can't reach the Batcave, the Hall of Justice, or the Watch–" I nudged him, gesturing to Zatanna. "Or _any_ adult hero!"

"Red Arrow included," I added.

"… _Guess we're on our own. Kid Flash out."_

"Traditional media's out, but kids worldwide are posting the same thing," Zatanna informed us. "Every adult, eighteen or older, has disappeared. The sorcery big enough to pull this off? Scary big." She looked at us with wide, fearful eyes.

Robin and I looked at each other. _'Can she?'_ we asked each other. I looked at Zatanna.

"We need you to find its source," Robin and I said at the same time.

Her eyes got even wider. "How am I–"

Robin pulled up the video clip of how Zatara located Wotan and the Injustice League. While he did that, I tapped into security cameras worldwide to see how everything was going.

A ringing snapped me out of my thoughts and I looked at Robin. I reached into my pocket and dug out my phone. Oh crap. It was Barbara.

'_Barbara,'_ I mouthed quietly before stepping out. "Babs, this isn't really a good–" I picked up as soon as I was out of earshot.

"_Of course this isn't a good time! All the adults are gone!"_ Barbara shrieked, panicking. _"Where are you and Dick, Rena?!"_ she exclaimed.

"Barbara, calm down," I said as soothingly as I could. "Where are you right now?"

"_Bette and I have been gathering the kids from school to try to help out,"_ she reported. _"We've taken refuge in the gym, but Rena, I don't know what to _do_!"_

My heart lightened at the idea of how great Barbara was. "That's good, Barbara. Just stay there. I'm sure the heroes are on it."

"_No, Rena. The Justice League is _gone_! They're adults too!"_

I pursed my lips. "Robin, Black Falcon, Aqualad, and Kid Flash aren't. I'm sure they'll figure out something."

"_Where are you and Dick?"_ Barbara repeated.

I frowned. "We're in Paphos right now. Bruce had a meeting here and brought us along."

"_You guys are in _Cyprus_?!"_ she shrieked. _"Oh God, Rena. I don't know if I can do this. You know how selfish the kids in our school are. Only Bette and I have some sense to help these kids out… well, I dragged Bette."_

"You'll do fine, Babs. I know you will. So for now, do what you can. Trust in the heroes we have."

"… _Alright. I will. I feel calmer now. Thanks, Rena."_

"Any time, Barbara. Now I have to go. Dick and I are in some chaos here as well. Stay whelmed."

"_Alright. Bye."_

"Bye," I replied before hanging up.

I reentered the Mission Room, and saw Zatanna walking away. Knowing I had reentered, Robin turned around. He looked at me through his dark sunglasses. "How is she?" he asked.

I shook my head. "A bit overwhelmed, I'd say. I told her to stay whelmed, and she's calming down. She and Bette gathered some kids in school and are working on gathering the kids in Gotham together. By the way, I said we were in Paphos."

I walked right into his arms and he encircled them around me. "We'll do fine, V," he said quietly, holding me.

"They need comfort right now, Dick," I replied just as softly. "They're kids. They're scared. …_I'm_ scared." I gripped Robin's jacket tighter, scared that he might disappear too. Bruce and Roy are gone for sure, and there was no doubt that Alfred and Kyle were as well.

"We'll get through this," Robin replied. "It's what we do."

"_Kid Flash, return to base. Robin and Black Falcon, tap into _all_ satellite systems. We _must_ let them know we are here."_

Robin and I broke apart just as Wally zoomed into the Cave. He took one look at me and ran to me, hugging me tightly as well.

I buried my face in his chest, taking comfort in him as well. "Thanks, Wally," I said, voice muffled by his shirt.

"Anytime," Wally responded. He let go of me and we went off to change into our uniforms.

By the time we got back, Aqualad was already there, dressed in his uniform as well. He waited patiently for the three of us to gather and tap into the satellite systems.

"Done," Robin said, stepping back. "We're live in three."

"Attention, children and teenagers of Earth," Aqualad addressed, looking at the screen. "I am Aqualad. These are my friends, Robin, Black Falcon, and Kid Flash."

"We're using Justice League tech to cast and stream to every TV, radio, computer, and smart phone on the planet," Robin informed.

"We know you must be scared… and angry. We know without your parents, there's a temptation to run wild. But please… stay calm," Wally comforted.

"We _will_ find a way to bring the adults back. But for now, you teenagers must step up and help the younger ones. I'm scared too… but trust that we'll find them," I spoke.

"Take care of your younger siblings," Robin told them. "Take care of kids you don't know."

"Protect them," Wally said.

"Protège-les. Baohu tamen," I translated, and proceeded to in all of the different languages I knew, which was a little bit over twenty.

"It is up to you," Aqualad concluded. "Please, help in any way you can."

I cut the signal from my holo-computer and sighed. I looked at Robin, and he grasped my hand softly. I sure hope Barbara saw the broadcast.

Kid Flash walked away, and Aqualad left to contact Atlantis.

I walked over to a keyboard and pulled up the security cameras again. Robin released my hand and circled his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"I'm sure Babs saw that broadcast," he assured, squeezing me softly. "It'll be alright. We'll find out what's happened."

I turned around, so I could fully hug him. I took in his pine-mint scent and inhaled deeply. I felt his chest rumble softly and he asked teasingly, "Are you _sniffing_ me?"

Some blood rushed to my face and I buried my head into his shoulder because I stood to his bottom lip. "You smell good…" I tried to defend myself.

I felt his chest rumble again and I slapped it.

"Ow," I felt him wince. "Watch that arm of yours, beautiful." My chest felt like it was throbbing and I fiddled with the back of his cape. "… Too fast?"

"I just wasn't expecting it," I admitted. I rested the side of my head and answered, "But no. It's not too fast."

"Don't wanna scare you off," Robin chuckled, hugging me. He leaned down so he could place his head at the crook of my neck and he took a deep whiff as well. "Sunshine, vanilla, and Verena."

"Well, you smell like pine, mint, and Dick," I responded. Robin leaned back and gave me a toothy grin before leaning down. His lips met mine softly and I pressed against him to get as physically close to him as I possibly could.

I heard a low whistle and then Kid Flash's voice say, "_Wow_. Gettin' a bit too steamy here, aren't 'cha?"

Robin and I pulled apart and I grumbled under my breath, before turning to Kid Flash. "What is it, Wallace?"

"Oh dang, full first name," Kid Flash grinned, not at all worried. "Just wanted to let you know Zatanna's ready." He pointed behind him with his thumb and I noticed Aqualad and Zatanna standing a few feet away with Superboy and Miss Martian.

Miss Martian threw me a grin and a thumbs up. I shook my head, exasperated before swiping my hand over the air, summoning a keyboard. I tossed it at Robin, and he began to type in eyes, summoning a hologram of the Earth.

Zatanna gave me a look, smiled sheepishly, before pulling out a wand and walking forward. She took a deep breath before saying, "Etacol renecipe fo yrecros!"

A red dot appeared on the globe, and I frowned. That was pretty close to here. "Roanoke Island?" I identified, reading the coordinates that had appeared.

"You did it," Robin nodded his head. Zatanna, however, still continued to look disheartened.

"I see it worked," Artemis commented, coming forward.

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding my head. I pulled up some things and began to analyze the area. "It's not that far, so we can get there in less than half an hour if we get everything set up."

"That sounds perfect," Aqualad nodded his head. He turned to Robin and began, "Robin–"

He was abruptly cut off by the sound of cracking thunder and I reached for my holster. I, however, was taken aback by the young boy that was standing in the center of the room.

"It worked!" he exclaimed happily, his blue eyes glistening with happiness.

We all acted at once, and approached the kid while Aqualad barraged question after question. "Where did you come from? Who are you?"

"Quick!" the boy exclaimed. "Read my mind!" He looked directly at Miss Martian with a confident look on his face.

Miss Martian suddenly gasped and then exclaimed, "He's Captain Marvel!"

"Yeah, and _I'm_ Speedy Gonzalez," Kid Flash retorted. "Look, just because he _believes_ he's Cap–"

"Gee, Wally, do I really have to bring you nachos and pineapple juice to get on your good side," he smirked.

"I'm sold," I said, cracking a grin. I then realized something. "Wait… Captain Marvel? You're really a kid?" I scrunched at him.

"Still taller than you," he quipped.

"That's not much of an accomplishment," Wally snorted. "_Everyone_'s taller than Fal."

"I'm four-seven, leave me alone," I frowned. "And I'm cute like this."

"You are," Robin chuckled quietly, wrapping his left arm around my waist. He pulled me so we were flush against each other and he turned to Captain Marvel, who introduced himself as Billy Batson from Fawcett City. "How'd you get here?"

"I flew to the Cave as Captain Marvel and saw Batman and Zatara," he informed us. "And Batman said that there Earth was divided into two separate worlds. One for kids and one for adults."

"So you can travel back and forth from them?" Aqualad inquired.

Billy nodded his head. "I have to report back to Batman. Give me a second. Shazam!" And with that, he disappeared. A silence fell through the Cave, and we waited patiently for Billy to return.

Once we came up with our game plan, we set off to Roanoke Island. The Team went in the Bio-Ship while I flew my jet right alongside them.

It definitely didn't take us long to get to Roanoke Island, and when we did, we came up with a small attack plan, with Robin, Artemis, and me leading. There seemed to be only Klarion, but we couldn't lower our guard. His familiar could fight too.

Robin, Artemis, and I launched ourselves into the middle of the road and I shot multiple bullets while Robin threw birdarangs and Artemis launched a couple arrows.

Klarion easily deflected our attacks and gleamed at us. "Is that the best you can do?" he taunted. Lightning suddenly struck down and the three of us jumped away, hoping that our diversion was long enough.

I heard grunts and cries of pain and frowned. I rolled on the ground, pushing myself off of it before charging at him alongside Superboy. I let Superboy run ahead of me and he called, "Falcon, Maneuver Three!"

I could do that.

I sped up and Superboy lowered himself. I jumped off the ground and used his back as leverage to launch myself off of him, into the air. As I flew in the air, I expertly shot at the barrier, trying to find any weak point I could.

Klarion grabbed me while I was in the air and I grunted in pain when he threw me against a tree. He levitated me over to him and I glared at him as he pulled me into the barrier, so he could take a good look at me.

"Y'know, you're pretty cute," he grinned at me. His tongue darted out and he moistened his lips. "They never said there was such a cutie in the team of brats."

"Get away from her!" Robin cried and I heard faint explosions as batarangs were launched at the barrier. I saw electricity crackling from the corner of my eye and saw the strange stone at the center of the circle Klarion had created.

"So," Klarion narrowed his eyes, "you teamed up with the grown-ups. Teamwork is so overrated."

Electricity was launched out and I saw Robin and Artemis fall. "Robin!" I cried. I struggled against the invisible grip Klarion had on me. "Artemis!"

Kid Flash ran towards us and I felt myself being launched.

I let out a groan of pain as my head collided with Kid Flash's and we stumbled and rolled back. My head throbbed in pain but Kid Flash held onto me with his good arm to prevent us from getting separated.

"You have too much of a hard head," I groaned, once we landed roughly on the ground.

Wally chuckled dryly. "You do too…"

"Zatanna!" I heard Aqualad call and I whipped my head, despite the painful pulsing. I saw her with the Helmet of Fate and I vaguely heard Kid Flash call out a cry of protest, but it was too late.

A bright light flashed and I saw a female Dr. Fate. Oh no.

"_This ends now!"_ Zatanna's body cried.

My vision started blurring in and out as I could only watch the battle go on. Kid Flash picked me up and ran me to where the others were placed. Robin and Artemis were on the ground and I groaned in pain.

"Falcon, can you fight?" Aqualad inquired.

"Damn right I will," I snarled out. "I owe him a good one." I stood up and reached for two spare guns, as I had dropped by other two when caught by Klarion.

I stood on one side of the barrier and shot one shot after the other, hoping to deteriorate any part of the barrier as best as I could while Nabu attacked from above.

I heard Klarion say something about Nabu's power being divided in half and I narrowed my eyes as I launched air bullet after air bullet even faster. Zatanna's life wasn't going to be in vain.

Our efforts were soon proven useful, as the barrier began to dissipate, and Klarion fell to his knees in defeat. He was caught by Dr. Fate's cross and Aqualad cried, "Now, Kid!"

Kid Flash ran forward and uprooted the gem, tossing it to Dr. Fate. "Yam eht owt emoceb eno ecno erom!"

At first, I didn't see anything different, but then four criminals, Wotan, Felix Faust, Wizard, and Blackbriar Thorn fell suddenly to the ground, unconscious.

I stalked forward and Klarion turned, grinning towards me. "Hey there," he greeted me. "You gonna handcuff me?"

I narrowed my eyes and placed the guns back into their rightful places before clenching a fist at him. "No, but you're gonna wish I did." I pulled my arm back, tucking my fingers in, and launched my fist, giving him a sock to his nose. He flew back a few feet, and I was sorely disappointed that he didn't fall unconscious, but the crunch I heard was rather satisfying.

I stumbled back from the force of my punch, still really light-headed.

Klarion glared at me and then spat, making a small pile of blood appear on the dirt brown ground as the liquid dripped down from his nostrils. "They sure don't make evil immortal sorcerers like they used to. Oh well." He snapped his fingers and called for his familiar.

I was about to go after him, but stumbled and he found his escape in a red portal.

I heard a groan of pain and turned my head to see Artemis and Robin drunkenly walk over to where the others were on the other side of the circle.

"Did we win?" Robin groaned.

"At a cost," Aqualad explained.

I looked up to where Dr. Fate was still floating, in Zatanna's body.

I felt a shadow loom over me and winced as I looked up. Batman looked down at me quietly as I faintly heard Zatara ask for his daughter back.

"Are you alright?" Batman inquired.

"I'd be better if that punch knocked him out," I joked, smiling weakly. "I'll live."

I heard the Team protest and looked up, before Zatara stepped forward. I leaned forward to listen, because not only was my vision going in and out, my hearing was too.

Where was that loud pulsing coming from?

"Take me instead," Zatara begged. He listed all the reasons why Fate should take him.

Slowly, Dr. Fate lowered himself and the helmet was taken away. Batman placed a hand on my shoulder softly before walking forward to rejoin everyone else. I'll rejoin them in a second…

"Take care of my girl," Zatara said, looking at everyone.

"You have my word," Batman promised, nodding his head.

Zatanna begged her father not to leave her, but Robin held her back, and Zatara placed on the Helmet of Fate. It was done.

Zatara was now Dr. Fate. He levitated the four sorcerers away, before disappearing with them.

Zatanna collapsed to her knees, and all I wanted to do was go over there and help her. I took a step forward to join the Team in comforting her, and pain shot through my entire body.

I collapsed onto all fours, exhausted. My hair fell past my shoulders due to the gravity, and it was then I noticed that my blonde strands were caked with brown and some red.

Wait.

Red?

I panted heavily and felt sweat trickle down the side of my face. The adrenaline was wearing off and I groaned in pain as my head pulsed painfully.

I supported myself on three limbs while I pulled off my right glove with my teeth. I reached up to wipe away the sweat, but something felt different. It was too thick to be sweat. I looked down, and my suspicions were confirmed.

I was bleeding.

I thought back to when I was thrown against Wally, and how my head collided solidly with his chin before hitting the ground and then banging against his chest. That must've been when.

"Falcon?" I heard Superboy ask.

I began to sway unevenly and I tried to lift my head, but I couldn't. I was going to throw up if I did.

"I'm alright," I muttered out before letting myself fall into the darkness.

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****NOVEMBER 7, 2010  
****09:18 EST****  
**

I was walking down the hall, heading to Zatanna's room.

I wasn't allowed to help Zatanna move in because of my injury. I was pretty much under house arrest because I couldn't do _anything_. It was good I didn't get any trauma from my injury or get hurt any further, because, as I was informed, Superboy had caught me before I passed out.

I walked past what was now known as Zatanna's room and raised a hand to knock. I heard light sobbing inside and hesitated.

Should I?

Swallowing whatever courage I had, I knocked softly. "Zatanna?"

"Um, in a second!" Zatanna called, and I could hear the croak in her voice.

A few seconds later, the door hissed open and Zatanna smiled weakly at me. "Hey there, Black Falcon. Can I help you with anything?"

"I uh…" I started, shuffling my feet, "just wanted to see how you were doing. And call me Falcon. Or Fal. It's a lot shorter and easier."

"I'm… I'm okay," Zatanna smiled weakly. She looked at the bandages around my head and inquired, "How's your head?"

I unconsciously rubbed the soft bandages. "It's alright. I've had worse." I gave her a small smile. I looked inside and asked, "Um, can I come in?"

Zatanna looked at me strangely, but nodded.

The room was littered with boxes, and I felt a bit sad I couldn't help. "Sorry I couldn't help," I frowned, looking at the boxes. "They looked like a lot of work."

"It's fine," Zatanna waved off. "I understand."

I awkwardly scratched my clothed arm as Zatanna sat down on her bed. I searched for the right words to say, but I couldn't find them. I sighed. "This is why I like talking to guys more," I mumbled to myself.

"Pardon?" the older girl asked, confused.

"Just talking to myself," I grinned. "So… I know that it's gonna be hard adjusting, and I just wanted to let you know, I'm here for you," I told her. "It's not sympathy or anything. Well, I really do feel sorry for you. Not like that. I mean, like. I understand. I… uh… God." I groaned, not really knowing what to say.

Zatanna giggled softly and she said, "It's no wonder the Team loves you so much."

"Huh?" I inquired, cocking my head to the side.

"You're so cute," Zatanna grinned at me. "I– I thought you didn't like me."

"No!" I denied furiously. "It's just– you came in during a pretty rough time. Robin and I had this tension, and then he just paid attention to you and then I just felt this weird feeling and then we argued, and we _never_ argue. That was our first argument and then I was hurt and we didn't talk to each other for weeks and then I just took it out on everybody and then I–" I cut myself off, running out of oxygen in my brain from rambling too much.

I frowned. "I never sucked this much at speaking. I've never gotten anything below a solid A on my oral presentations. I usually don't ramble."

"If you don't mind me asking… Why are you visiting me? Now that I know you don't not like me, it's still a bit weird…"

"Oh," I grinned sheepishly. I scratched the back of my head and answered, "It because you're kinda like me."

"I don't get it…" Zatanna frowned, very confused.

I smiled softly. I patted a box and made sure it was sturdy before I sat on it.

"I was raised on an island by my mother and her teammates. I never knew my father," I told Zatanna. She nodded her head, but still had no idea why I was telling her this. "I was the only kid on the island, so I didn't know anybody else my age. Only these expert pilots and shooters. So I did what they did: flew planes and shoot.

"One day, just a couple days after my eighth birthday, we were under attack, and it didn't look like we were going to win any time soon. As a result, my mother sent me packing and told me to fly away and stay away until they came for me. I flew a jet all the way to Gotham, and lived in the forest with the money they had left for me.

"I found out two weeks after I left that my mother had died," I said, looking at Zatanna. "Along with a few others. My only family I knew was gone."

I looked at Zatanna, and saw that she knew where I was going.

"I'm not saying you have to tell me everything or to even tell you to be my best friend. But I'm just throwing it out there that I understand what it's like to lose your only parent that had raised you with all the love they could possibly give you."

Tears filled Zatanna's eyes, and I noticed them threatening to fall.

"I'm here for you, Zatanna. We all are," I smiled.

"Thank you," Zatanna choked out.

I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her, and felt her tears soak my quite-expensive-shirt. Whatever. It was a gift from one of Bruce's associates trying to get on his good side anyway.

"It's okay to cry every now and then, but don't cry too much," I said, patting her back. "You'll ruin your beautiful eyes."

Zatanna let out a small laugh through her tears and I rubbed her back in consolidation. I hugged her for a while, just letting her cry softly.

When she pulled back, she wiped away the remaining tear tracks and gave me a soft smile. "Thanks for being a friend, Fal. Sorry for ruining your shirt."

I smiled softly at her. "No prob. If you ever need me, just call me." I grinned at her before turning around and leaving the room.

I walked down the hallway, but didn't get very far before I was pulled to a chest.

"Whoa, injured person here," I joked, lightly smacking my "attacker's" chest.

"I couldn't help but overhear," Robin said softly into my ear. "That was really nice of you to do that."

"I'm not cold-hearted," I grumbled. I looked up through my dark glasses, and leaned up to peck him.

"You're the most warm-hearted girl I know out there," Robin chuckled as I pulled away. "Wait, come back. That's no kiss." He leaned back down and captured my lips with his.

I smiled softly against his lips, gripping the flaps of his jacket softly.

Could life get any better than this?

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

"Rise and shine, beautiful."

"I'll give him _better_ kisses for _his_ birthday."

"It_ is_ the first League-Team team-up after all."

"You just keep falling for me, don't you?"

* * *

**A/N:** Ah, it was a much longer chapter because of the Verena/Zatanna moment. I honestly don't like Zatanna, but... y'know. Mainly 'cause I'm totally jealous of her, but yeah. But I figure Verena could be a nice friend to her. :) Review guys~


	23. On Ice

**A/N:** Ugh, I'm slacking too much. :c It's just writer's block is coming on SO HARD these days... EVEN THOUGH I'M ON VACATION NOW. WHUT. DAMN YOU, BRAIN. HOPEFULLY, my brain juices will start flowing properly so I can update more, but... _sigh_. Doesn't look like that's happening. I'm so sorry. :c

I know lots of you guys had issues reviewing, so I **_really_**_ do_ appreciate you guys taking the time out to PM me! :o You guys are awesome! It's probably because the previous chapter was also a note chapter, and once I replaced it, it counted your review still. Sigh. For those of you that _were_ able to review...

**Kamil the Awesome:** Yeah. She's pretty tiny, but Robin is too. xD You'll have to read and find out about Wally. :P  
**ZabuzasGirl:** It wasn't immediate, but here we go! :o  
**KarmaHope:** I haven't seen _Kick Ass_. But I DO have it on my harddrive... I'll get around to watch it. xD But that's great that you think about V! :D  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** You'll find out... You'll find out. I'll give you a hint, it's in the _twenty-ninth_ chapter. ;)  
**dracula-key:** Yeah, I think it'd be utterly childish and totally unprofessional if V doesn't _attempt_ to get along with Zatanna... Other girls though... You'll see. ;)

Oh yeah, guess who has a 4.0 GPA? It's not the IDEAL grades for me, but, hey. Still a 4.0. I still have a 4.1 overall. Good enough, I suppose. :P Guess I _am_ going to college. :o

* * *

**GOTHAM CITY  
****NOVEMBER 11, 2010  
****08:12 EST****  
**

My feet rubbed against each other as I slowly began to be conscious of my surroundings, but my eyes stubbornly refused to open.

"Rise and shine, beautiful," a voice cooed softly, brushing some locks out of my hair gently. "It's a certain speedster's birthday today and we've gotta get the Cave set up for the birthday party."

"But I wanna sleep," I whined, but despite that, I scooted closer to the edge of the bed, where Dick was. I curled into him and nuzzled face into his chest, since he was resting on my bed.

"You're already awake," Dick pointed out.

"I suppose," I muttered tiredly. I reluctantly nudged him for him to back away and I climbed out of bed. I sleepily roused my hair, trying to tame it before stalking to my restroom.

When I emerged from my bathroom, dressed in a nice green long-sleeve shirt that hugged me quite nicely and a pair of jeans, I saw Dick flipping through his phone as he casually laid on my bed.

He looked at me and smiled.

I resisted the urge to blush and instead ducked for my closet, picking out a nice pair of boots. As I bent down to pick my boots, I felt Dick come up behind me before placing his hands on my waist.

"How is it possible you get more and more beautiful each day?" he said quietly.

"You're my boyfriend, you're obliged to say that," I responded, still looking at my boots with determination to not allow Dick to see my blush.

"I'm not obliged to say anything," Dick replied. "What I say is nothing but the truth."

I smiled softly and whirled around before hopping up lightly to peck him. I ran off, carrying my boots, leaving a stunned Dick behind me in my tracks.

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****NOVEMBER 11, 2010  
****16:05 EST****  
**

"_Recognized: Kid Flash: B-Zero-Four. Zeta-Tube Network now offline due to extreme atmospheric conditions."_

"Whoa," I heard Wally sigh to himself. "I just made it. It'd be a _tragedy_ if I missed my own…" He stepped into the room and I flicked on the light switch.

"Surprise!" we all exclaimed.

"_What_?!" Wally screeched, in a fail attempt to act "surprised". "Aw _you guys_! You shouldn't have!"

Robin crossed his arms and chuckled. "_Right_. Not like you haven't been hinting for _days_ or anything."

"Happy birthday, Wally," I smiled, approaching him with a celebratory hat.

"Thanks, babe," Wally grinned, winking at me. He took the hat and then looked at me. "So… do I get a birthday kiss or something? It's not every day your favorite guy turns sixteen."

I rolled my eyes before pulling Wally down to kiss him on the cheek. M'gann then chose that moment to bring out the cakes, read it, _cakes_. Plural. I took a step back and rejoined Robin and Wally dashed off to M'gann.

"Is _that_ a birthday kiss you give to your _favorite guy_?" Robin whispered quietly to me.

I rolled my eyes before glancing at him from the corner of my eye while M'gann presented the cakes to Wally. "Well, he's not my _favorite_ guy, but definitely high up there. My favorite's this guy… kind of cocky, with this weird laugh… I'll give him _better_ kisses for _his_ birthday."

Robin's eyebrow shot up. "Kiss_es_, huh?"

Wally blew out his candles and Robin and I clapped while listening to the birthday boy flirt with M'gann. Jeez, he's the only one that didn't know about Conner and M'gann. But then again, he didn't know about Robin and me either… but that's different.

M'gann then gave Wally a peck on the forehead and Wally let out a heavy sigh. I went over to get my slice of cake and picked one up for Zatanna as well.

"Hey," I said, handing her the slice. "You settling in here okay?" I looked at her from behind my dark glasses.

She took the cake and let out a heavy sigh. "Yeah," she muttered. "Just like home."

I placed my free hand on her shoulder since I was holding a slice of cake in my other. "I know it's all intimidating and everything, but it's okay." I watched as Wally stuffed himself. "Someday, you'll get used to Wally not inhaling his food, but eating it."

Robin snorted from behind me and Zatanna let out a small round of giggles. Artemis stepped up from behind me and I turned to look at her. "Think we should tell him?" the archer asked.

"He is the only one who doesn't know," Robin agreed slightly.

Artemis had a mischievous look on her face as she said, "Then please, allow me."

I watched as she strode over to him confidently before taking a seat on the couch behind him. She leaned down and whispered softly to him, and I could see his expression morph into sadness.

Zatanna excused herself, and Robin took my hand in his. I smiled up at him, and he rubbed the pad of his thumb over the top of my hand softly. He leaned down, but was interrupted with a voice that filled the entire Cave.

"_Attention Team,"_ Batman's serious voice said, _"suit up. Polar-stealth. Mission briefing in five."_

With that, we dropped all of what we were doing and rushed to the locker rooms, where we had on spare uniforms. I quickly got myself dressed. Would you believe me if I told you Batman trained Robin and me in _changing_ quickly? In less than a minute, I had my entire uniform on, and was heading to the Mission Room.

I tugged at my white shirt and light blue jacket I had on. It didn't look like much, but it was actually heat-insulated.

Five minutes later, everyone, minus Flash and Red Tornado, was standing in a line just as a holographic screen of Batman appeared.

"Where's Flash?" Kid Flash inquired, looking for his mentor.

"Flash and Red Tornado already have their assignments. A massive ice storm has paralyzed North America from coast to coast. Satellite imagery has detected five flying fortresses from sources unknown which seem to be responsible and must be stopped."

"Well, can't the Watchtower blow them out of the sky or something?" Kid Flash asked.

"What's a Watchtower?" Zatanna asked, who was on my left.

Batman let out a heavy sigh and turned to Kid Flash. "The League's orbiting headquarters is _not_ weaponized. And with both Green Lanterns off world, I need all hands on deck."

My jaw dropped and Robin reached for my hand, clenching it tightly. "Does that mean what I think it means?" he asked the screen eagerly.

"The League and the Team fighting side by side?" I quipped, feeling my adrenaline rush. This. Was. So. Awesome!

"Black Falcon, meet up with the Batplane at Ice Fortress-1 with Robin and Aqualad. Superboy, use the Super-Cycle to meet up with Black Canary and Red Tornado with Wolf at Ice Fortress-2. Miss Martian, Artemis, and Zatanna, take the Bio-Ship and rendezvous with Green Arrow and Martian Manhunter at Ice Fortress-3. Other Leaguers will deal with Fortresses Four and Five. Sending all coordinates now."

"Uh… Batman?" Kid Flash stepped forward. "I think you skipped me."

"Kid Flash," Batman addressed, and I watched excitement crawl onto the speedster's face. "A young girl in Seattle is in desperate need of a heart transplant. With all conventional air-traffic grounded by the storm, you'll need to pick up the donor heart on Boston and run a three-thousand miles across country."

Kid Flash's face morphed into one of despair.

"Who is this girl?!"

"Does it matter?"

Kid Flash let out a heavy sigh. "No. Of course not. But… can't we Zeta–"

"Zeta-Tubes are offline," Robin interjected. "Sorry."

Kid Flash let out a sigh. "Right. Then how can I say no?" He sighed and said, "Guess I won't be needing stealth." He pushed the logo that was on his chest and his white and light blue stealth morphed into his usual yellow and red. "Speedy delivery boy… at your service."

"Coordinates received," I announced, noticing my holo-computer beep. I looked at Aqualad and Robin and we nodded our heads.

Without another word, we dashed off to the hangar. I activated my jet as we ran, to make sure the jet was ready for us by the time we arrived. The door to the jet hissed open as we were running down the steps and we piled in.

"Strap yourselves in," I announced, taking a seat at the pilot's seat. I flipped on the necessary manual keys and activated a line with Batman. "Locking onto Batplane coordinates. Heading out now."

The bay doors opened and I flew out without another word. I pushed the pedal to the metal, moving as fast as I could to get to our location.

"_Robin, Black Falcon, and Aqualad,"_ Batman addressed when I saw something black come from beside me. It was the Batplane. _"Aqualad, you will meet up with Aquaman and he'll give you instructions on what to do. Black Falcon, switch the jet onto auto-pilot and then open the lower hatch and you and Robin attack and disable the blasters first."_

"Got it," I nodded.

I could see the Ice Fortress looming in the distance and switched to auto-pilot. When we were close enough, I opened up the bottom hatch and we all jumped out.

I quickly pulled out two guns, shooting the lasers while Robin launched birdarangs. Flash whizzed past me, going for one of the lasers.

I jumped out of the way of a blast and Flash appeared beside me in an instant.

"Hey there, kid," Flash greeted me. "How'd Kid take it?"

"Disappointed," I replied easily. I climbed onto Flash's back and I shot as fast as I could to deflect the shots aimed at Aquaman and Aqualad. As he ran, I also dropped explosives behind us. "It_ is_ the first League-Team team-up after all."

"There'll be other chances," Flash replied, dropping me off next to Robin. "By the way, Iris wants an exclusive on you two."

"We'll give her one," Robin and I replied at once before destroying another laser.

I launched myself into the air, shooting at a target that was a few feet away, busy with Batman. It turned on me at the last second and I did a flip in midair, before falling back down.

I relied on Robin, who was right below me, and he caught me easily.

He grinned down at me and asked, "You just keep falling for me, don't you?"

I shoved him lightly before tumbling out of his arms, throwing a handful of explosives randomly and I called to Batman, "Done!"

"Everyone move out!" Batman ordered and we ran to the edge of the fortress. I summoned my plane and opened the top hatch and launched myself inside. Everyone but Batman followed. Batman entered his Batplane.

We took off and a few seconds later, I activated my explosives. I heard a huge explosion and could see some ripples from the snow as the energy pulsed around us.

"_Mission debrief will take place tomorrow,"_ Batman told us over the link, knowing it was supposed to be the Team's day off. _"Report to the Cave at ten tomorrow."_

I dropped Aquaman and Aqualad off into the Atlantic Ocean, and Flash in Central City before heading back to Gotham City. When I landed my jet in the Batcave, Bruce was already working at the Batcomputer. I noticed one of the smaller screens showed a live news feed on what was going on outside and saw the second Ice Fortress was taken down.

I peeled off my mask and approached Bruce. "I know it's almost winter and all, but this can't be a coincidence."

"No," Bruce agreed, nodding his head. "But this is a large-scale attack. There's no way one ice villain can pull it off."

"Icicle Sr., Icicle Jr., Killer Frost, Captain Cold, and Freeze working together?" Dick suggested, coming up behind me without his mask on as well.

"But they're locked up in Belle Reve, aren't they?" I inquired, cocking my head to the side. I felt a tug in my lower abdomen and my face frowned.

Dick looked down at me curiously. "What's wrong?"

"I dunno," I shook my head, unsure myself. "I just feel a bit of pain."

"Constipation?" Dick suggested. "You weren't hit earlier."

I shrugged. "Probably. Be right back," I muttered, before making a beeline to the restrooms.

I opened the door to the restroom and took residence on the toilet, pulling my pants down. I frowned when I noticed a red splotch on my underwear and sighed. That explained it.

I doubted there were any pads in the cabinet below the sink, since this was a house and I was the only female. Instead, I ripped some toilet paper and shoved it there neatly before cleaning myself and standing up.

I flushed the toilet, washed my hands, and walked back to the Batcomputer.

"Bruce?" I called for the older man's attention.

"Yeah?" Bruce answered, not really looking away from his work.

Dick was drinking some hot chocolate, standing beside Bruce as he worked. He extended the extra cup he had to me as I approached and I took it appreciatively. I took a sip of the warm liquid, enjoying the warm sweetness that warmed me up.

"Are the roads closed?" I inquired, cocking my head to the side.

Bruce shook his head. "It's difficult to go through, but they're not closed. No. Why?" He took a sip of his own hot chocolate.

"I need pads," I replied.

At the same time, Bruce and Dick's eyes widened. Dick began to contort as he began coughing up a storm while Bruce had whipped his head to the side to avoid damaging the Batcomputer, though I was pretty sure it was waterproof.

Dick's eyes began to water heavily as tears threatened to fall from the liquid going down the wrong pipe. He furiously wiped them away with the back of his gloved hand and he shook his head clear.

"You need _what_?" he inquired, his voice quite high-pitched at the very end.

"Pads," I replied. "C'mon, Dick, you took health class with me."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm prepared for you to start menstruation."

"You should be fine for it," Bruce nodded his head. "It'd probably be faster for you if you went in your uniforms. It's also safer."

That was true. Our uniforms were heat-insulated and would melt the snow on contact. Our bikes were also capable of that as well. We wouldn't have to worry about the snow getting in our way.

"I don't see why I have to accompany her," Dick frowned.

"You're my boyfriend," I said, taking his free hand in mine. "You're obliged too."

Dick sighed before saying, "Well, I suppose _someone_ has to know what to get for you next time you're in this crisis."

Despite his reluctance, I knew that he didn't really mind. Best. Boyfriend. Ever.

"Why can't you go with her?" Dick asked, looking at our father.

"I have to review today's mission," Bruce replied with a straight face. "I need to analyze the reason for this sudden snowstorm."

Dick and I exchanged looks. _'He just doesn't wanna go,'_ Dick whined with his eyes.

'_I know. But let's go anyway.'_ I reached forward, grabbing his gloved hand in my own. With my other hand, I pulled out my mask and slid it easily on my face.

I walked over to where our bikes were, but at the last second, I turned so I was waiting at Robin's bike. He quirked an eyebrow at me, but didn't say anything as he straddled his bike and I climbed on right behind him, circling my arms around his hard abdomen.

We threw on our helmets before Robin revved the engine and took off, with me holding him.

The streets of Gotham were for the most part, clear, with the exception of a few kids playing outside in the snow and some people travelling to run some errands. We whizzed past everyone, knowing the speed limit wasn't a problem for us.

It didn't take us long to get to a pharmacy, and Robin decided to park right there on the side of the street since hardly anyone was out. We climbed off the bike and headed into the pharmacy.

The girl that was sitting at the counter looked up from her magazine when we walked in, and her gum bubble popped, sticking onto her nose, but she probably didn't notice because she was too busy gaping at us.

I led Robin over to where the feminine products were, and began to search the isle for something decent to try out. I had already had this talk with Dinah, so thankfully, I knew what to do for the most part.

I scanned the pads while Robin stood behind me, rolling on the balls of his feet.

"Why aren't you looking at the tampons?" Robin inquired curiously.

"I don't like the idea of shoving something up my hoo-hah," I replied, turning my head back to look at him.

Pinkness dusted over my partner's cheeks before he looked away, not wanting to make eye contact with me. I giggled softly and leaned up to give him a peck on his slightly warm cheek. I glanced around at my options before grabbing a green pack that was labeled as _Always_ and walked to the counter, with Robin behind me.

The girl that was behind the counter rang up the purchase quietly, and I pulled out a ten to pay for it, but Robin smacked down a chocolate bar and then a ten.

I turned to glare at him and he grinned back. "I'm buying something, and I'm not allowing you to pay for it."

I rolled my eyes and the girl handed me the plastic bag with the pads and the chocolate bar. We left the store, and before I did, I could see the girl furiously texting someone.

I pursed my lips to keep a smile from growing too wide and we walked to Robin's bike. I slipped my arm through the hole in the bag and then latched my arms around Robin's waist.

He revved the engine and took off, heading back to the Batcave.

When we got back to the Batcave, I headed straight towards the restroom to change and throw away the bloodied toilet paper.

I also changed out of my uniform into a large comfortable t-shirt and some black and blue lounge pants. There wasn't going to be a mission debrief any time soon because Wally was knocked out.

I found Dick on the sofa in the television room, in his own pair of black and blue lounge pants and t-shirt. I giggled softly before climbing onto the sofa, resting my head on his lap.

"What's so funny?" Dick inquired, running his hand through my hair.

"We match," I grinned, smiling up at him.

Dick's eyes scanned my body once, then twice, and then another time. He grinned. "That we do." He leaned down and, because of his flexibility, it was easy for him to kiss me.

I smiled against his lips and he pulled me up so I was straddling him. He cradled the sides of my face, and I felt something wet and smooth swipe across my bottom lip.

I felt some heat rushing up and opened it slowly, and Dick's tongue slipped in, exploring my mouth for the first time. His tongue poked around the inside of my mouth, swiping around my teeth and the roof of my mouth before rubbing itself against my own tongue.

My heart drummed against my chest, pounding so loudly that I was sure Dick could hear it.

He inhaled sharply and pulled my closer to him, moving his hands to my waist. His thumbs rubbed against my sides in slow, sensual circles, sending pleasurable tingles down my spine.

I couldn't help but wonder that we were moving too fast.

It had only been nineteen days since we had gotten together, and we were sitting here, on a couch, making out for the very first time.

Did couples move that fast?

Fast or not, I pushed the thought aside, knowing that we weren't a normal couple.

I moved my hands from Dick's strong shoulders before coming around, circling around to his back and pressing my chest against his own.

Blood was pounding in my head, and I could feel oxygen leaving my brain, but I couldn't stop.

Dick and I pulled back to take deep breaths, before he practically threw me on the couch, mauling me. It was like he was holding himself back all this time until now.

He pressed himself flush against me, not worried about crushing me because he knew I could handle his weight. I gripped tightly at the back of his shirt and I sucked on his top lip while he nibbled on my bottom one.

I felt something hard rub against me and let out a gasp, quickly realizing what it was.

Dick, seeming to also realize, almost scrambled off of me and ended up toppling off the couch and onto the ground in the process.

He groaned and I rolled to look. He was rubbing the back of his head and he frowned at the couch and the ground, blaming them for double-teaming on him.

"Crap," he remembered, and his hands flew up to cover his face. "Shit. Dammit. I–" Profanities began escaping his lips, and I propped my head on my hand, continuing to just look at him. His hands dragged down his face and he looked at me wearily. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine," I said. "It's normal."

"I know," Dick frowned. "But… but still…"

"Uncontrollable hormones or not, it doesn't make me lo- _like_ you any less," I smiled, secretly glad that I caught myself.

Dick flashed me a smile and he leaned up to give me a peck.

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

Robin walked over to me and then cradled my face, swiping my cheek with his gloved thumb.

"You totally left me hangin'!"

"M'gann's acting a bit different."

"Whoa! My bad, dudes!"

'_One day, we'll tell the others who we are.'_

* * *

**A/N:** Review, guys! :D Also, you don't have to _just_ harass me. Harass my beta, **livstar235**, as well. xD I can't post unless she's done checking it! So check out her stories, leave a review, and harass her. ;) By the way, I've also been writing and messing around with story ideas, and I was wondering which one you'd like me to post! :) They'll all be posted eventually (I hope), but I'd like for you to vote which one first! I've got **Hyuga Neji from Naruto**, **Marufuji Ryo from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX**, **Hitsugaya Toshiro from Bleach**, **Yagami Taichi from Digimon**, and **Brendan Birch from Pokémon**. You guys can vote on my profile! So please vote! :D Don't worry, I'll still be posting the sequels to _**Black**_** _Falcon_** for sure. I just wanna work with more than one story. :)


	24. Images

**A/N:** Wow. This took too long. Sorry, guys. :c On the bright side... OMFG 335 REVIEWS! :O

**storygirl99210:** Hahah. I was really calm when I got my first period. xD I simply did what Verena did.  
**goddess of the nigth:** Thank you! x]  
**That dorky blonde:** Mhm... yes and no, actually. Because though these two are young physically, they're actually quite mature mentally for their age. If you're worried about them going _too_ fast, don't worry. They won't go as far as making out (right now at least).  
**Takashi981:** LOL. And yeah. Still gotta remember Dick's 13 and he's still going through that whole puberty stage!  
**Guest:** Why thank you. I try. x]  
**ForgeandGred4ever:** They'll get older soon. :)  
**Kamil the Awesome:** Good "aww man..." or bad "aww man..."? :3  
**ImagineDaydreams:** LOL! Thank you! And no, I don't have a Twitter. Anything you can contact me media-wise is all available on my profile. :)  
**monzepelmoon:** Hahah. Alrighty then. x] Just letting you know... I'm done writing this series. LOL. So harass my beta to edit faster so I can post faster. xD  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** Happy belated birthday! :D How old are you now? Her father _is_ an enemy of Batman's, but _not_ at the same time. ;)  
**GlassxCandy:** Thank you! :D  
**piggythelaw:** Indeed it is. Especially when you're still a pre-teen/early teenager. x]  
**nightfurylover:** SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG.  
**LovableAmethyst129:** LOL. It's literally what I told my best friend when she talked to me about tampons, so I thought of throwing it in there. ;3  
**Kakaccc:** Five more now! :o  
**dracula-****key:** LOL. Well, even if the cashier _did_ text it. We all know Black Falcon's on her way to becoming a woman! :3

Anyways, before I begin, _harass my beta_. Seriously. xD I'm **done** writing **all** the remaining chapters of **_Black_**_ **Falcon**_**,** and all that needs to be done is beta-ing. x] Check out **livstar235**'s stories when you have the time too! :D

Before I begin, one more note. Sorry for so much talking. **There is a poll on my profile involving the future of _Bla__ck_**_ **Falcon**_**. Check it out**** guys.** And without futher ado, let's begin, shall we?

* * *

**MOUNT JUSTICE  
****NOVEMBER 22, 2010  
****10:04 EST****  
**

"Wrench," I said, extending out a hand blindly.

I felt the cold steel of the tool slip into my palm and I retracted my arm, loosening the nut that protected the underside of my jet.

"Just what are you doing, anyway?" Conner asked me. I didn't have to be looking at him to see him crossing his arms as he stood in-between Wally and Robin.

"I'm just upgrading the jet a bit," I replied, loosening another nut. When the layer fell loose, I pulled it out, extending it to the boys. "Someone put this aside." Wally let out a grunt as he took the steel layer from me.

"Jeez, this thing is heavy for just a thin layer," the speedster commented.

"_Robin, Black Falcon, __Kid Flash, Superboy, Miss Martian, report for mission briefing,"_ I heard Batman announce over the speakers of the Cave.

"I'm not done yet, crap," I said, pushing myself out from under the jet. I wiped away my hands and threw the wrench in the toolbox.

"Looks like it'll have to wait," Robin shrugged before we left the hangar. I walked off to my assigned room that I sometimes used and pulled out a uniform from my closet.

I didn't have to worry about slipping on a mask, because I was already wearing one because it was pretty hard to fix up the underside of a jet wearing sunglasses, so I slipped on a mask earlier.

I threw on my uniform quickly and exited the room. I walked off to the Mission Room, where the others were already assembled.

Robin walked over to me and then cradled my face, swiping my cheek with his gloved thumb. He gave me a small smile. "You had a bit of oil on your face."

I gave him a small smile before the two of us joined the others. Batman scanned our faces and I stood up straighter, giving him my full attention.

A hologram of a man, Rumaan Harjavti, appeared. I recognized him as the president of Qurac. Aw man. We were going to Qurac without my jet? Damn.

"Rumaan Harjavti is the democratically elected president of Qurac. Harjavti has been praised as a fair, wise leader. A humanitarian," Batman showed a clip of Harjavti shaking hands with Bruce Wayne.

"_Sure_," Kid Flash whispered to Robin and me. "Any friend of _Bruce Wayne's_."

"But five days ago, Harjavti allied himself with the dictator of the neighboring nation of Bialya, Queen Bee," Batman continued.

Superboy scoffed. "Not a fan."

"Few are," Batman commented. "But Harjavti sudden backs Queen Bee's baseless claims that Qurac and Bialya were one nation in ancient times, and has announced the countries will reunify in two days at a ceremony in Qurac."

He showed us clips of press conferences of Harjavti and Queen Bee, and I frowned at Queen Bee's tone, which sounded completely smug and right at home… like she already _owned_ Qurac.

"And the Quracis are _okay_ with this?" Kid Flash exclaimed.

"Hardly," Batman replied as a video clip of a bunch of Quracis were gathered in a location, protesting greatly. "They're well aware of the brutality of Queen Bee's regime, but Harjavti has censored the press, silenced all legitimate protests, and invited the Bialyan military into his country to enforce martial law."

"Queen Bee has pheromone control," I stated. "Could she be forcing Harjavti to do her bidding?"

"Then Queen Bee _has_ to be controlling Harjavti," Robin concluded.

"But not long-distance," Batman told us. "We have confirmation she hasn't left Bialya. Something else is at work here. Find out what. Robin, you're team leader. Black Falcon will be vice."

"Promotion, sweet!" Kid Flash exclaimed, holding his hand in the air towards his best friend.

Robin, however, was just shocked and let go of my hand, walking towards our mentor. "M-me? But what about Aqualad?"

"Busy helping Aquaman. You're the next logical choice," Batman replied promptly.

"Great," Robin sighed, looking down at the ground.

"Dude!" Kid Flash protested. "You totally left me hangin'!"

I rolled my eyes before reaching forward to grab Robin's hand. "Anything else?" I inquired, looking up at my mentor. Batman shook his head and we all headed off towards the Bio-Ship.

**QURAC  
****NOVEMBER 22, 2010  
****23:56 UTC+2****  
**

"We're right above the Quraci-Bialyan border," Robin informed as we sailed in the air above some kind of reserve.

"A border the Bialyans are in the process of ignoring," Kid Flash retorted, and I activated my holo-computer to see what he was talking about.

Using the Justice League satellites, I was able to see multiple tanks running over the fields, causing the wildebeest to stampede around, desperate to get away from the military.

"No opposition," Superboy sighed. "Guess Harjavti really is in with Bialya."

"Wouldn't expect opposition here anyway," Robin replied. "It's an animal sanctuary."

"The _Logan_ Animal Sanctuary?!" Miss Martian exclaimed incredulously.

I whirled around in my seat to look back at her, along with Superboy. "You've heard of it?" Robin asked, looking at the Martian. I raised an eyebrow at her, confused. _I've_ never heard of it, and that's kind of saying something since… y'know… my mentor's Batman.

"Guys, the tanks have caused a stampede," Kid Flash reported, "with civilians in harm's way!"

I unbuckled my seatbelt and, with Superboy, walked over to where Kid Flash was. I activated the zoom and night-vision in my mask, and spotted them.

"I see them," Superboy told us. "A woman and a small boy."

"We have to help them!" Miss Martian exclaimed.

"We're _way_ off-mission here," Robin told us. I turned back to look at him, and he met my masked eyes. I nodded, and he returned the action. "Deploy. But stealth-mode. If the Bialyans know, this becomes an international incident."

Miss Martian opened the lower doors and Kid Flash and Superboy jumped out first, falling easily onto the ground without fail.

Robin and I were out next, and I pulled out a gun, shooting at the wheels of the tanks, effectively breaking them while Robin launched his birdarangs.

We landed behind the red-headed family of two, and Robin asked, "Are you alright?" just as Kid Flash skidded to a stop right behind us.

The two were stunned silent for a while before the boy shook his head and looked at the woman eagerly. "Mom! Mom! _Mom_! We were just saved by _Robin_! And _Black Falcon_! And _Kid Flash_!"

The both of them had red hair and blue eyes, with similar cheekbones and eye shape, indicating that they were indeed related. From the terms of ages, the boy was either the woman's son or nephew. I'd place my bet on son.

"Superboy and Miss Martian helped too," Kid Flash added, gesturing to our two other teammates.

Miss Martian levitated the oryx down and the little boy exclaimed, "Oryx!" before running to the animal and cuddling with him.

I gave a small smile before explaining, "We diverted the Bialyans around the sanctuary."

"You should be safe now," Robin concluded. Even though we just saved them, the woman didn't look pleased, petting the injured oryx before looking at us.

"Uh… yeah. Coast is clear, Miss M. You can de-camo now," Kid Flash pointed out to the Martian who I could feel standing behind us.

Miss Martian became visible and gave a weary hi and I saw the boy's face look shocked before his mother spoke up. "You may have made things worse. Bialyan border-crossing is a way of life here. Usually they wreck a few fences and move on. Engaging them might've made us a target."

"_Mom_!" the boy whined not-so-quietly. "Uncool!"

The oryx let out a cry before walking away. The woman sighed before apologized, "I'm sorry. I should thank you. This is my son, Garfield. I'm–"

"Marie Logan!" Miss Martian exclaimed enthusiastically. "I can't believe I'm actually meeting you in person! I- uh, I've uh- I've admired your stance on animal rights for years."

The wildebeest that Superboy took down limped over, huffing. Marie walked over to the animal and rubbed him soothingly. "I think you've injured this wildebeest," she looked pointedly at Superboy.

"Uh… sorry?" Superboy inquired.

"I suppose it was unavoidable," Marie admitted. "But both need to go to our clinic."

"The boys and Black Falcon can do that!" Miss Martian exclaimed, and I looked at Robin, confused. "You and I can um… fix your fences?"

"That's not exactly our–" Robin began to protest, but Miss Martian clasped her hands together.

"Robin, _please_?!"

"_Please_, Mom?!" Garfield begged.

Robin and Marie sighed before reluctantly saying, "Fine," causing Miss Martian and Garfield to cheer.

"It's late," Robin said, looking at us. "We should get some rest."

"I can morph the Bio-Ship to accommodate beds for us," Miss Martian volunteered. "Though I can probably only fit around four beds."

"That's fine," Robin nodded his head. "We'll see you all in the morning."

We parted ways with the Logans, and the others went back to the Bio-Ship first, while Robin and I lingered outside for a while.

"Does Batman want a report?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"We'll give him an overall report later," Robin told me. "Right now, I just want some time with you." He took my gloved hand in his own, and we began to take a walk away from the Bio-Ship and away from the reserve.

I let go of his hand and wrapped my right arm around his left, before taking his left hand into my own hand. I clung to him softly, and he leaned down to peck me on the top of my head.

"M'gann's acting a bit different," I commented casually, as we headed into some trees to avoid being out in the open field.

"Yeah," Robin agreed. He led us over to under a large tree and sat down, pulling me into his lap. He peeled off my mask slowly before I reached up and took off his own domino mask.

Brilliant blue-grey blinked at me and I leaned forward slowly, before capturing his lips with mine. I closed my eyes softly, reveling in the feel of having just Dick and me in our own little world, away from this life and danger that we constantly faced daily.

I cradled his face, while his arms snuck around my waist and pulled me close to him.

I turned my head to get a better angle at his lips, when I felt something coming towards us, and fast. At once, Dick and I pushed away from each other, scrambling for our masks. We slipped them on just as I pulled out a gun, cocking it.

"Whoa!" Kid Flash exclaimed, his mask down. He had his hands in the air above him, showing he meant no harm. "My bad, dudes!"

"It's just Kid Flash," Robin sighed before we put back our weapons. We sat back down on the grass, this time, with Kid Flash joining us.

"It's _just_ Kid Flash?" the speedster scoffed as we peeled off our masks. "It's _the_ Kid Flash is more like it."

"Don't be so full of yourself, West," I teased lightly. "You already have trouble balancing with your already-too-large-head."

"Since when did you get so mean?" Kid Flash asked, jutting his bottom lip at me. Sure, he looked cute doing it, but it didn't really affect me the way Dick did it.

"Since she's almost becoming a teenager," Dick commented, leaning back against the tree trunk with me.

I elbowed him in the gut and he let out a small grunt before pushing me away lightly. However, three seconds later, he pulled me back against him. I smiled and leaned back, cuddling into him.

"Dude, you guys and your PDA," Kid Flash frowned.

"You're just jealous you can't get a girl," Dick retorted.

"Maybe," Kid Flash shrugged, not bothering to deny it. "It's only a matter of time before I have a hot babe under my arm though. Anyway, M'gann and Conner were wondering where you guys were."

"Everything's set up?" Dick inquired as we got up. We pulled on our masks, and I briefly wondered if we had to wear our masks to sleep.

"Yeah," Kid Flash nodded his head. "M'gann even has this curtain for whatever bed you and Ren choose for privacy. Sleeping in a mask can't be that comfortable."

"Isn't she sweet?" I smiled softly as the Bio-Ship came into view.

We stepped inside the Bio-Ship, and, as M'gann promised, four beds were successfully drawn and blankets strewn on them.

The Martian gave the three of us a smile before saying, "Sorry, there's only four. Maybe you and I could share one?" M'gann directed the end of the last question to me.

"Fal and I can share one," Robin replied. "It's not like we haven't before."

"Dude, did you think before you said that?" Kid Flash inquired, pulling his mask down as the door closed behind him.

Robin just shrugged and detached his cape. "Others' opinions are irrelevant. If we cared what others thought, we wouldn't be in this life in the first place."

Kid Flash shrugged. "That's true. Carry on with your non-innuendos then."

**QURAC  
****NOVEMBER 23, 2010  
****08:51 UTC+2****  
**

Superboy, Kid Flash, Robin, and I found ourselves following Garfield into the Logan home the next morning. Miss Martian was out with Marie helping mend the fences, so we were just going to relax inside.

I heard some rustling in the bushes and looked up just in time to see a Sabaeus monkey launch itself out of a tree, around Superboy's shoulders before stealing Kid Flash's protein bar.

"Hey!" the speedster protested as the monkey ran to Garfield.

Garfield laughed as the monkey climbed on him and he whirled around, looking at us with bright blue eyes. "It's okay! Meet Monkey!"

"Good name," Superboy grunted. "But I hate monkeys." He let out a small growl when Monkey launched Kid Flash's protein bar at his head and I giggled softly.

Robin looked down at me and smiled before saying, "And Monkey hates Superboys."

"Dude, be glad he only threw a protein bar," Kid Flash added. I nodded in agreement, but Superboy continued to scowl.

I giggled softly at the thought of monkey poop covering Superboy. Did that make me a bad person? Whoops. But hey, it's hilarious.

Garfield led us inside the house, without worrying to throw the door open because it was already open. It wasn't too big, but it wasn't too small either. It was homey and comfortable.

I sat down in the seat across from Robin while Kid Flash sat next to him and Superboy stood.

"So, pretty weird about Miss Martian and my mom, huh?" Garfield inquired, and I quirked an eyebrow in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"I mean she looks exactly like my mom! Except… y'know, _greener_," Garfield replied. I blinked. I didn't really see the resemblance…

"She does?" Kid Flash cocked his head.

"Well, _duh_," Garfield retorted as his pet monkey gnawed on his shirt. "Actually, she looks a lot like Mom back when she was a TV star on _Hello, Megan!_."

"Wait, _Hello, Megan!_ is a TV show?" I furrowed my brows, confused.

"I always thought it was just something she said all the time," Robin added, looking at his best friend and me.

"Yeah," Garfield agreed. "_On_ the TV show. Way before we were born. There's only one season and you can't even find it online." Garfield looked at the group of VHS tapes underneath the television. "I know Mom has a tape _somewhere_…"

We waited quietly for him to look around the tapes before he pulled out one, turning to us with a beaming smile. "_Hello, Megan!_ The pilot episode!" He placed the video into the player and I was surprised that it was just a pure VHS player, not a dual VHS/DVD player.

"Whoa, you still have VHS…" Kid Flash commented.

Kid Flash said something else, but I was distracted by Superboy yelling, "Wait!" We all paused, waiting for him to report to us. "Aircraft," he said shortly. "Heading this way."

I got up and quickly ran out of the room with Kid Flash and Superboy. I stood outside on the porch and looked up in the skies. I activated the zoom in my mask and looked around for the approaching aircrafts. "I see them! Ten o'clock!"

The aircrafts began blasting down at us and Robin ran over to me, grabbing me and wrapping us in his cape to protect us from the debris.

"Where's my son?!" I heard Marie demand.

"I ordered him to stay inside," Robin reported after the blasts stopped temporarily.

I pulled out my gun and cocked it, switching its power to maximum in order to take down the planes.

"He's _eight_! He doesn't _do_ orders!" Marie retorted.

"_Mom_!" I heard someone call from a distance. I looked up to see Garfield pushing open the door of a barn. "It's okay! I got the animals out!" he waved.

The attacks happened again and this time, they were aiming for the barn. "_Garfield_!" Marie screeched before Miss Martian flew into action. She caught the flying Garfield before he could land on the ground and Kid Flash and I exchanged looks.

"Gimme a boost?" I asked, cocking my gun.

The speedster tossed me a grin before dashing away. I got a running head start and he launched me into the air. I flew in the air, since Kid Flash was able to give me a really good boost. I landed on the plane that was flying closest to the ground, doing a flip in midair, before landing stealthily on its roof.

I used my gun and aimed at the screws on the sides of it and blasted them off. The covering popped open and I reached inside, ripping the wires. The plane began to swerve and I held on while peering around to find a safe landing.

No one was around me, but I hope that Kid Flash would notice and catch me before I tumbled.

I jumped off the plane, willing and trusting that my teammates would come. When I was around twenty feet off the ground, I felt someone support me from underneath and smiled at Kid Flash's grinning face.

"I gotcha, babe," he told me before he landed on the ground, skidding to a stop.

"How's Garfield?" I asked, once Kid Flash placed me back on the ground. I slid my gun back into its holster and adjusted my belt.

"Pretty bad," Kid Flash frowned. "I took him and Marie inside the house. She's got some experience in the medical field, so hopefully we can figure out how extensive his damage is."

I nodded and climbed onto Kid Flash's back before he rushed us back into the Logan house. He put me down on the patio and we ran inside, following the drops of blood.

Marie had a stethoscope around her neck on one side of Garfield while the Robin was standing by on the other. "He's in shock," Marie reported. "He needs a blood transfusion now. Is any of you O negative?" Marie asked.

"No," Robin and I answered while Kid Flash apologized.

"I can run him to the nearest hospital," Kid Flash said determinedly.

I pulled up a map and quickly located the next hospital. "Even with you travelling at your top speed, it's half an hour away," I sighed. "I had blood supplies in my jet… but obviously, it's not here."

"He doesn't have that much time," Marie said. "What's Superboy's blood type?"

"He's Kryptonian," Robin replied. "And Miss Martian–"

"Might be able to help," Miss Martian said meekly, joining us with Superboy. "My shape shifting occurs at the cellular level. I think I can morph my blood to match his."

"_Please_," Marie begged. "Try."

Miss Martian nodded. "I need to concentrate. No distractions."

Marie nodded before whipping around. "Out! All of you, out!" I took a few steps back so I was outside the door, and once Robin was out, Marie slammed the door in our faces.

We walked down the hallway back into the living room quietly. As I walked, I couldn't help but think about my own mother.

A free spirit she was, yes. I mean, she could order beer in thirty different languages.

Robin heaved a heavy sigh, knocking me out of my thoughts. "And on top of all this, Harjavti steps down _tomorrow_, subjecting all of Qurac to this danger. KF, can you find a news station?"

I walked over to where Robin was sitting on the single couch, but he didn't budge. Instead, he patted his lap and I sat down on top of it. He circled his arms around my waist, but he was still completely stiff. I leaned back against him, and he relaxed slightly, but still was sort of tense.

"Now which remote is it?" Kid Flash looked at the three remotes, confused. He chose one randomly and clicked at the television.

I heard a school bell ring before someone singing, "_Hello, Megan_~" and turned my attention to the TV.

I blinked as I watched a girl, much similar to M'gann's human form appear on the screen. It really was a TV show?

I hopped off of Robin's lap and went to get a closer look, standing next to Superboy.

"Maybe it's a coincidence…" Superboy suggested.

"Doubtful," I muttered. The opening song ended and then I watched as the Megan on the screen went, _"Hello, Megan!"_

Apparently, her boyfriend was also named Conner, which, obviously, was Superboy's alias.

"Oh yeah, pure coincidence," Kid Flash whispered to Robin and me.

"It's done," I heard behind me. Kid Flash scrambled to turn off the television while Superboy, Robin, and me turned around to look at the Martian. "All we can do now is wait."

"_My fellow Quracis…"_ I heard Harjavti say. I turned back to the television and watched the Quraci president give a speech. _"Queen Bee's rule is a gift to Qurac."_

"Hey, I know that guy in the back!" Superboy exclaimed.

I stepped back to look at Robin's computer as he scanned the man on standing behind Harjavti.

"It's Psimon, the psychic we fought last time when we were in Bialya," Miss Martian identified. Well, Miss Martian and Superboy did. I remembered Artemis, Kid Flash, Robin, and I were trying our best to locate and save the dehydrated Aqualad. But from their reports, I knew of what had happened.

"If he was working for Queen Bee then," I started. "Then he must be working for her right now," I concluded. "That explains why Queen Bee is still all the way in Bialya and Harjavti is so willing for Queen Bee to take over."

"We _have_ to get Harjavti away from him," Robin said.

"I think it worked," Marie said, coming up behind us. "Garfield's stable."

"Good," Robin nodded. "Because we have our mission."

**DHABAR  
****NOVEMBER 23, 2010  
****22:11 UTC+2****  
**

We waited quietly for Robin to finish scanning the area before he reported, "Harjavti's alone."

Robin kicked the shaft open quietly and we jumped down softly, landing on the ground without a sound. While the rest of us scanned the room for anything, Robin approached Harjavti.

"Where's my daughter?" the president asked, a bit dazed. "Where's Psimon?"

"Forget him," Robin told him. "Let's get you out of here."

Before we could do anything, the doors were thrown open and Bialyan soldiers came running in, carrying what looked like Apokoliptan weapons.

Well, crap.

"_Those are Apokoliptan weapons, aren't they?"_ I asked through our mental link.

"_Which they'll use to__ kill Harjavti, we get blamed, and Queen Bee gets to rule Qurac,"_ Robin told us. _"Form up around the president."_

"_I found Psimon!"_ Miss Martian exclaimed. Robin protested, but it fell to deaf ears. Superboy volunteered to go after her, but we were a bit tied up.

I grabbed a nearby soldier and gave him a nice punch in the face, effectively knocking him out. The others went to shoot me, but my teammates were already on it.

Kid Flash ran forward, knocking out multiple soldiers. Robin launched himself in the air, and we double-teamed on two soldiers. Superboy let out a roar of rage and then ran, punching and knocking out three soldiers.

Soon, they were all on the ground, groaning in pain. Noor Harjavti, the president's daughter, meekly opened the door as I put away my guns and brushed the dirt off my hands. She ran over to her father, and embraced him tightly.

"Thank you for saving my father," she said to us, her eyes shining with unshed tears. "We will take care of him now."

Robin nodded and looked at us. _"Let's go help Miss M."_

The four of us darted out of the room, going down the hall. Thankfully, there was only one straight path.

"_M'gann, we're coming!"_ Superboy informed as we turned down the hallway. We could faintly hear crashing noises as we got closer and closer.

Before we could see what was happening though, my brain started hurting immensely, and I couldn't bear the pain. I stumbled over my feet, falling to the ground, before everything went black.

I have _got_ to stop fainting.

"_Fal,"_ I faintly heard. _"Fal, wake up."_ Some light shaking.

I groaned, willing my eyelids to open. I blinked several times to focus and get used to the lightning. Kid Flash and Robin were hunched over me, looking down at me.

Kid Flash gave me a smirk. "Well good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

I felt a shot of pain in my brain and hissed, glaring up at the speedster. "Inside voices!" I scolded him in a whisper. "I feel like I have a hangover…"

"Ditto," my two friends agreed.

"What happened to Psimon?" I asked curiously.

"He brain-blasted you," Miss Martian informed us. "I stopped him."

"Need to call Batman and inform the League," Robin muttered, typing a quick transmission. "Let's head back to the Logans'. I need to sleep."

"Amen to that," I muttered, standing up slowly. I swayed slightly, but willed myself to keep walking. We left the building, ready to get some minimal rest for the day that followed.

**QURAC  
****NOVEMBER 24, 2010  
****11:26 UTC+2****  
**

After wrapping up the whole incident with Qurac/Bialya, we were back at the Logan Sanctuary, watching the news of Harjavti getting assistance from Bruce Wayne to restore Qurac back to its former glory.

"_Gee_, Bruce Wayne sure got here fast," Kid Flash mused. "Almost like he knew–"

I giggled from my place on Robin's lap as Robin smoothly threw his arms behind his head, supporting his neck and elbowing his best friend in the process. "Don't you have a souvenir to collect or something?"

"_Hello, Megan!_" Kid Flash exclaimed, hitting his head. Robin wrapped his arms back around my waist as the speedster ran over to the television, grabbing the VHS of said TV-show. He held the VHS in front of M'gann's face. "Something you'd like to _tell us_?"

She looked around at us and Robin leaned forward, resting his chin on my shoulder as we waited patiently for her reply. She heaved out a heavy sigh before explaining that she had a tough life on Mars, and she was able to connect with Megan on _Hello, Megan!_. She admitted that she came to Earth and chose the form to look like Megan.

Robin, Kid Flash, and I exchanged looks before Robin inquired, "Which begs the question, what do you really look like?"

She stood up quietly and looked at us contritely. Her hair then phased away, looking an awful lot like Martian Manhunter even more so now.

"Bald M'gann," our resident speedster mused. He looked at Robin and whispered, "_Still hot_." I rolled my eyes and leaned back against Robin's hard chest as Superboy got up and walked over to his girlfriend.

"You know you don't have to put on a mask for me," he said.

M'gann pulled away, her hair forming back. "I do it for me. This is who I am, inside." She looked at Marie sadly. "Please don't be mad."

"Mad?" Marie inquired. "I'm _honored_. M'gann, you saved my son. He says he's your blood brother now and I agree. You're family."

M'gann rushed over to Marie, hugging her tightly. "Thank you! You don't know what that means to me!"

I smiled softly at the scene and looked up at Robin.

'_She's still M'gann. Nothing changes.'_

Robin agreed silently with a quick nod. _'Totally. One day, we'll tell the others who we are.'_

'_I wonder if it'll be soon. It's hard living without letting them know.'_

'_Yeah. But for now, let's just stay a bit more mysterious, yeah?'_

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

"Anything you fancy?"

"Anything for you."

"She was hot."

"It's a bit of an _inside_ thing."

"I love you."

* * *

**A/N:** Don't forget to check out my poll and _**vote on the sequel to Black** **Falcon****.**_ Also, I had some ideas as I was listening to music, so I wrote some **Lovebirds One-Shots**. Check it out! I have one posted! :) And do you see that beautiful white box at the bottom? :) Type something in it and then click "Post Review". ;)


	25. I Love You

**A/N:** Let me just start off by saying that you guys are **amazing**. This story's actually FIVE VIEWS away from hitting **30,000 views**. Un. Be. Lievable. You guys are awesome. And second, **over 350 reviews**? Crap. Someone needs to give you guys cookies (not me, because I'd burn my house down in the process). :3

**darklifebrightdreams:** Yes! And I am back once again! :D  
**piggythelaw:** The episode title was called _Image_, so yeah. Lack of creativity on my part there. xD LOL. Feel free to leave long reviews! They make me _really_ happy! :)  
**ImagineDaydreams:** I just love Kid Flash/Black Falcon moments. Don't you? XD And well, hope you didn't wait _too_ long! :)  
**Kamil the Awesome:** Alright then. *pout*  
**That dorky blonde:** I'm glad I made you laugh out loud. xD I don't think I'm a very funny person, so I'm glad you enjoyed it.  
**storygirl99210:** I love Garfield too! He's so adorable~!  
**goddess of the nigth:** Thank you! :)  
**Xmidniteangel15X:** Nice! You're the same age as Dick in _Invasion_. ;) Starfire? Hm... we'll see. ;) She doesn't appear in _Young Justice_ but... you never know. I added Kyle. :D But then again, I like Kyle. Hahah.  
**Hyper-Blossom Z:** Well, just between you and me (and everyone else that actually reads this) Season 3's winning.  
**Kelly1432:** Please don't cry when it's done! There's still a **lot** more Lovebirds following this series! Keep following all the way? ;)  
**GeishaXnoXHimitsu:** Thank you! :D  
**dracula-key:** I'm afraid Wally never will. LOL. And Andrei will be in some "filler" chapters, so-to-speak. He's just a side character. :3 No Bat-Weasel or anything. LOL.  
**ZabuzasGirl:** It wasn't immediate, but here it is. ;)  
**acciodana:** I actually noticed. LOL. I saw your other reviews and your favorites. xD Welcome to the Lovebird Fandom! (Do I have one? I dunno. I'd like to think I do to know I'm actually liked.)

* * *

**GOTHAM CITY  
****DECEMBER 1, 2010  
****06:17 EST****  
**

I grinned mischievously to myself, slowly opening the door to Dick's room. I saw the familiar lump on the dark blue, silk sheets.

I pushed open the rest of the door, and ran towards the bed. I leapt into the air in the direction of the clump under the sheets, but let out a squeal as Dick suddenly popped up from under the sheets, pinning me to the bed. My green eyes widened in shock as Dick grinned down at me, mirroring the mischievous look I had a few seconds ago.

"Wh-what?" I stuttered out in shock. My jaw dropped in disbelief as I realized what he did. "You _jerk_!" I slapped his hard, firm shoulder.

Dick's bottom lip jutted out, pouting towards me. "_You're _the one that was going to jump _me_. That's only gonna work once, babe."

I grunted as I moved my lower body under him and flipped him over. His back and head sunk into the bed as I grinned triumphantly. "Pinned ya!"

He grabbed my shoulders and rolled me over. "Guess again, V."

We continued to roll around on the bed before I felt myself roll off the bed. I braced myself for the impact, but then Dick rolled me over at the last second.

"_Oof_!" Dick choked out when we landed in a clump on the ground. I flushed as Dick pulled me close to him. In return, he gave me a grin that made my heart skip multiple times. "Hey there."

My cheeks flushed and I dared to look at him. I felt the air escape me as I looked deep into his eyes. They sparkled at me with so much emotion. I could see the adoration in them, and I wondered why I never saw it before. "Hi…" I replied quietly, suddenly feeling incredibly shy.

Dick chuckled, his chest rumbling and making me bounce slightly before moving his head up. I pushed myself off him slightly, and looked down at him, my hair falling like a curtain around our heads.

His blue-grey eyes sparkled, drawing me in. A smile seemed like it was permanently plastered on his face and I moved closer to him. I captured his lips, pressing softly against them.

I smiled against his lips before pulling back. "Let's get you up, birthday boy. Your party guests will be here in an hour or so."

"It's six AM, V," Dick groaned, throwing his head back onto the plush carpet. "Who's coming at _seven_ in the freaking _morning_?"

"Our trio of best friends," I replied happily. "Roy and Wally Zeta'd to Manhattan earlier and they picked up Kyle. They're on their way here by car."

Dick heaved a heavy sigh and I got off of him, brushing out the wrinkles in my clothes. I was dressed in a long-sleeved royal blue blouse that had a v-neck line, and a pair of black skinny jeans. Don't' ask me what brand they were, because I honestly have no idea. Though, I _do_ know that my black ankle boots are from Steve Madden.

"I'll start on breakfast. Anything you fancy?" I asked, heading to the door.

"You," Dick grinned from where he sat on the ground.

"That's a bit too Wally," I rolled my eyes. "I _did_ make some homemade granola cereal though… I guess I'll just give it all to Wally then…"

"Not a chance!" Dick exclaimed, running to his bathroom, slamming the door shut. _"Be down in five!"_ he called, his voice muffled by the door.

I rolled my eyes. Of course, Verena. _Cereal_ is a way to get Dick moving. Yeah, don't come between the boy and his cereal. He loves it. Especially my homemade ones.

I skipped downstairs and headed into the dining room, where Alfred was placing the cereal I had into a bowl for Dick. "Morning, Alfred! Morning, Bruce!"

"Good morning, Miss Verena," Alfred replied, holding a pitcher of cold milk. "Will Master Dick be down shortly?"

"Three minutes," I replied.

"Good morning, Verena," Bruce replied from behind his newspaper. An empty bowl was in front of him. "Breakfast was delicious."

"Thank you," I chirped happily. I took my usual seat on the left of Bruce and filled up my bowl of cereal with milk just as Dick came bustling down.

"Morning Alfie, Bruce!" he greeted.

"Good morning and happy birthday, Master Dick," Alfred greeted, smiling softly.

"Happy birthday, Dick," Bruce said, placing his newspaper down.

Dick smiled and walked over to his usual seat across from me and sat down. He looked down at his bowl happily before grabbing the pitcher and pouring milk.

He took a hefty bite and let out a groan. "Oh _man_, that's good…" he sighed. "I'm marrying you and we're going to have two-point-five children and you can cook for us every day."

I rolled my eyes. He _always_ said that when I made him cereal for breakfast.

"I have some meetings to be at today," Bruce informed us. "But I'll try to make it back on time for your party, alright?"

Dick nodded his head, a small smile appearing on his face. "Yeah."

I looked around, searching for my little furry companion. "Where's Andrei, Alfred?"

Alfred cleared his throat. "He was scurrying across the fields about half an hour ago. He should be coming back soon. I've spotted some mice out yesterday."

I heard a dooking sound and spotted something brown and white dash across the room. Ah, there he was.

I felt something scratching my leg before Andrei popped out from underneath the tablecloth and onto my lap. "Morning, Andrei," I cooed, petting his soft fur.

Andrei dooked quietly, rubbing against my hand. He walked around in a few circles before climbing up my chest and then taking his place on my left shoulder.

"Morning, Andrei," Dick greeted.

Andrei dooked, his head bobbing up in down in greeting. Bruce got up, folding his newspaper and then petted Andrei. He gave me a peck on the cheek and patted a hand on Dick's shoulder before leaving the room. Alfred grabbed Bruce's bowl and empty cup, and left the room, leaving Dick, Andrei, and me.

The two of us quickly finished breakfast, with me doing the dishes quickly while Dick played with Andrei.

I found the two in the television room, with Dick on the ground on his stomach, holding a bungee toy towards Andrei. Andrei let out a series of growls, pouncing multiple times.

Andrei must've heard me come in, because his attention turned away from the toy. He scurried over to me and climbed up me quickly, resting on my right shoulder.

Dick sat up, crossing his legs. "Andrei's really attached to you…"

"He is," I agreed, nodding my head. "I love him." I leaned down and gave Dick a peck on the lips. "Thanks for giving him to me." I pressed my lips against his again.

"Anything for you," he muttered against my lips, snaking his arms around my waist. He pulled me down so I fell onto his lap.

"Dudes, whoa. PDA, much?"

I pulled away from Dick and turned. Wally was standing with his arms crossed, a smirk on his face, with Kyle and Roy on either side of him. Kyle had a grin on his face while Roy looked rather impassive.

Andrei made a beeline towards the males, dooking quite happily.

"Hey!" Wally greeted happily. "Andrei, buddy!" The speedster picked him up and tossed him gently in the air. "What's up?!"

"There's some homemade cereal in the kitchen," I informed them. "Help yourselves."

"Sweet!" Wally and Kyle exclaimed before rushing off.

Andrei was still with Wally so I yelled after him, "If Andrei wants to leave, just let him go!" He comes back when he feels like it.

"Happy birthday, Dick," Roy said, walking up to Dick.

Dick stood up and they did their weird man-handshake-hug thing. I stood up and brushed the nonexistent dirt off my clothes – hey, this is _Alfred_ we're talking about – before hugging Roy.

"Morning, Roy," I greeted.

"Morning," Roy responded, squeezing me once in reply before letting go of me.

"So what are our plans for today?" Dick inquired as the three of us headed to the kitchen.

"That's a really good question," I commented, pushing open the door to the kitchen.

As expected, Wally and Kyle were sitting at the island, munching happily on cereal. Andrei was gone, so I suspected that he either went to sleep or outside to eat some more. At least we don't have to worry about a rodent problem with Andrei around…

"You didn't plan anything?" Dick arched a brow at me.

"Whatever you wanna do," I grinned, looking at Dick. "But we gotta be back by five. Your guests arrive then."

"We should have a gaming marathon then," Wally grinned after swallowing his food. "Fighting games, first-person shooters, adventures… all apply."

"We all know who's going to win first-person shooters, Wally," I rolled my eyes.

Kyle swallowed his mouthful. "How _are_ you so good at _those_ but suck at _everything else_?"

"I'm not _that_ bad at other games," I frowned.

"Beautiful, you button-mash. If you win, it's just pure luck. … But even then, your luck's good most of the time. What the hell?!"

"You do," Dick added, nodding his head in agreement. I gave him a punch. "Ow!"

"Be happy I'm not punching you fourteen times," I half-sneered. They were telling the truth.

"I'm your boyfriend and your brother," Dick shrugged. "It's better to tell the truth than to lie."

"I just realized how wrong that is," Wally commented, furrowing his eyebrows together. "You guys are _siblings_."

"_You're_ the one that's always pushing them together," Roy commented, leaning against a wall. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood on one foot while the other rested against the wall. "You probably should've thought about that first."

"Yeah," Wally agreed, nodding his head. "Oh well. It's not like you guys are blood-related. Hell, Bruce could've been playing matchmaker."

"If anything, _Bruce_ needs the matchmaker," I commented. "He hasn't had anyone since… _Talia_." I frowned at the mention of her name. I did _not_ like her. Good riddance for him dumping Talia like a boss.

"Who's Talia?" Kyle inquired, cocking his head to the side. "And wasn't he with someone a couple days ago? What's-her-name…"

"That was just a date," Dick and I said at the same time, brushing it off easily. He had one-too-many of those.

"Talia was Bruce's ex," Dick said.

"Not very nice," I frowned.

"Why'd he go out with her if she wasn't very nice?" Kyle quirked an eyebrow at us.

"She was hot," Roy, Wally, and Dick answered at the same time. I rolled my eyes. _Boys_. Didn't matter if she was evil or not. If she was hot, she was hot.

After Kyle and Wally finished pigging out, they cleaned up before we all went to the entertainment room, where our barrage of game systems were held. As we were setting up for the first game, my phone began to vibrate.

I looked down at the caller ID, and saw that it was Unknown. I frowned. Even if I didn't have the number installed, my WayneTech system should've identified whose phone it was.

I excused myself and walked out of the room for some privacy.

"Hello?" I answered, slightly guarded.

"_Ah, good morning, Verena, dear. How is your boyfriend's birthday going so far?"_

I narrowed my eyes. "How'd you get this number?"

"_I have my ways. Regardless, it's Robin's fourteenth birthday today, is it not? Or should I call him Dick?"_

"You better not be planning anything," I warned. I could just imagine him sitting in his… _lair_, planning something to ruin us.

"_Relax, my child,"_ he attempted to coo, but sounded like a sneer. _"Nothing will happen to you or the Boy Wonder… or _The World's Greatest Detective_ today. I'm just calling to remind you of our meeting on the thirtieth."_

"I'll be there," I snarled. "So stop reminding me." I hung up, slipping the phone into my pocket. I had talked long enough to trace, but what was the point? He could slip away just as easily as I could trace.

I walked back into the entertainment room, and Dick caught my eyes. _'Everything alright?'_

I sighed mentally, shaking my head ever the slightest. _'It was him.'_

Dick narrowed his eyes, handing Wally a cable. _'About?'_

'_The thirtieth,'_ I responded before breaking eye contact with him.

For the rest of the day, we played multiple games on the game systems. I, of course, took the first-person-shooting challenge while Dick swiped the rest easily. He was in the zone today, and wasn't giving _anyone_ mercy. Including me. Good.

There was some throat clearing and Wally paused the Mario Kart came he and Kyle were playing. Alfred was standing at the door. "Your first few guests have arrived."

Wally un-paused and continued to play against Kyle while Dick and I got up like the gracious hosts that we were.

I found that it was a _lot_ easier just hanging out in the foyer, waiting for the guests to arrive instead of in the entertainment room, where everyone else was. But it got boring… _real fast_.

The door knocked again and Alfred opened the door. I caught a glimpse of who was behind the door, and Dick rushed over.

"Bette! Artemis! I'm glad you came!" he exclaimed happily. He ushered them in and I smiled in greeting.

We led them to the entertainment room and Dick announced, "The party's in here."

"Wow…" Bette gaped, while Artemis nodded in astonishment.

"Your foster father doesn't do _anything_ halfway, does he?" Artemis inquired.

"You have _no_ idea," Dick and I responded. "Foosball game?"

"I'll pair up with Artemis!" I exclaimed.

"Uh… okay," Artemis agreed. The four of us walked over to the now-empty foosball table. Bette paired up with Dick, and we started the game.

It only took about two minutes, but I managed to score.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, throwing a high five towards Artemis.

"Girl, you're on fire!" Artemis gaped.

"Please, I always beat him at this game," I rolled my eyes.

"Always?" Bette inquired.

"She's like, ridiculously good at pretty much everything," Wally chuckled, coming up from behind them. He grinned at Bette. "Hey there, my name's–"

"_Wally_?!" Artemis gaped, looking at the speedster. "What are _you_ doing here?"

Wally turned to Artemis and blinked. "I'm a friend of Dick's and Verena's." He waved around. "Y'know, nephew of Iris _West_-Allen? I'm like, her favorite nephew."

"You're her _only_ nephew," Roy rolled his eyes, coming up with Kyle.

"_Roy_ too?" Artemis gaped.

Roy arched an eyebrow at Artemis.

"Ooh! There's Barbara!" Bette exclaimed. "I'll be back, Artemis!" She danced off to where one of my best friends was. I wasn't sure if she was uncomfortable with what was going on, or she really _did_ want to see Barbara.

"In case you've forgotten," Roy said, looking at Artemis. "_Oliver Queen_ is my foster father. You know, head of Queen Industries? We're kind of in the same social circle."

"You confused?" Kyle whisper-asked me.

"Not really," I shook my head. "It's a bit of an _inside_ thing."

Kyle frowned, but nodded. "Understand. I've got some inside things with some friends from university too." I felt sad that we had to hide our identities from Kyle. He was a really great friend, even though we just met a few months ago.

"Who wants pizza?!" I heard Bruce exclaim through the boisterous cheers of teenagers.

"You _ordered_ pizza?" Dick whirled around to see Alfred and Bruce.

"Don't be ridiculous, Master Dick," Alfred admonished. "I simply ordered the boxes. I _made_ the pizzas."

Leave it to Alfred to do that.

Alfred placed the boxes of pizza in a neat order on the empty pool table, and kids immediately surrounded it. Kyle and Wally were the first ones there, and were quickly piling up their paper plates. Oh dear.

"I'm kinda surprised you're not in Dhabar…" Dick commented, as we approached Bruce.

"I'm not surprised you decided to hack my files again," Bruce responded, eyes twinkling. "I wouldn't miss your birthday, Dick. Besides… Dhabar's covered. Now go off and have some fun before Wally inhales the rest of the pizza."

With one last smile to Bruce, the two of us went over to the now clearing-up pool table, and quickly grabbed two slices of the supreme pizza.

"Let's get some air," Dick commented, looking at me. "I haven't had any alone time with you."

I smiled at him and we left the entertainment room, heading out to the back of the mansion.

"I kinda wish our _jobs_ were more… _open_," Dick commented. "I feel pretty bad lying by omission with Kyle and Babs." He took a bite of his pizza before chewing quietly.

I leaned against him quietly, resting my head on his shoulder while I ate my pizza quietly as well. Once we finished, I took a sip of the water bottle I had swiped on the way out. I downed half of it before handing the rest to Dick, who drank the rest.

He then placed the empty bottle and plates to the side on a table before grabbing me, pulling me to his chest.

"The job's dangerous, but I'm glad you're in it," Dick said quietly, looking down at me.

"I can take care of myself," I told him. "Don't worry about me."

"Easier said than done when there are guys with lasers and missiles," Dick chuckled. "But I know. You can kick my butt any time."

"It _is_ a nice butt to kick," I joked. Well, it _is_ a nice butt, but not to kick. Oh God. I'm hanging out with Kyle and Wally too much.

Dick chuckled. "You _do_ realize I can tell what you're thinking, right?" He gave me a cheeky grin.

I flushed slightly and buried my face into his chest, while I felt his chest rumble with laughter.

"I love you," I sighed as we broke apart. Dick's bright blue eyes widened at that revelation and mine did as well. I slapped my mouth in horror. _Oh God. Did I just say that out loud?_

Dick let out a chuckle, his eyes morphing back into his usual cheery blue-grey. "Yes, yes you did," he told me before pulling me close to him.

"I wanted it to be special when I said it," I mumbled, my voice muffled by his jacket.

Dick's arms tightened around me and I pulled back slightly. Something wet landed on my nose, catching my attention. Dick and I looked up and saw snowflake after snowflake fall from the dark clouds above us.

I looked back at Dick and saw him smiling down at me, with a rather intense, focused look in his eyes. "You said it, that's special enough for me," he began. "It being on my birthday and on the first snowfall just gave it a bonus."

My cheeks flushed, and it wasn't because of the cold weather. Dick chuckled, pulling me close to him before kissing me, framing both sides of my face with his frozen hands.

We pulled away from each other and our hot breaths clashed as our foreheads leaned against each other. "I love you…" Dick said softly, before pulling me into another kiss as the snow continued to fall around us.

I smiled into the kiss widely, and I could feel Dick's chest rumble as he chuckled softly into my mouth. His arms tightened around my waist, pulling me closer to him as possible, and I threw my arms around his neck, holding him close to me.

* * *

**Next Time on **_**Black Falcon**_**:**

"You're joining the Team?!" I asked excitedly.

Cheshire _kissing_ Roy?

"Since I _obviously_ can't be trusted, _you_ track her."

"Well, that was a bust," I frowned. Red Arrow tossed me a sour look and I smiled back.

"We all have our own secrets to keep, Roy."

* * *

**A/N:** Ooh, back to some serious stuff next time! :o Will there still be fluff? I have no idea. (Well, I do. But you guys don't.) Don't forget to check out some **_Lovebirds One-Shots_ **(that **might** actually be canon in the Lovebirds-universe, but for now, will stay non-canon) and to vote on my profile! Here's what we have so far!

**Season 1 (before _Black Falcon_): 5 votes, 13% of total votes**  
**Season 3 (between _YJ_ and _YJ:I_): 19 votes, 51% of total votes  
****Season 5 (during _Invasion_): 13 votes, 35% of total votes  
****Total**** Votes:** 37

Well, looks like the timeskip is winning. ;) Just letting you know, so much drama and heartbreak goes on. *sigh*

**Remember to review too, guys!**


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